Royal Connections

“I don’t like London... Well, I love GOING there – I just never intend to live there. The Cotswolds have a nice, relaxed atmosphere.” Zara.

Minchinhampton could be said to have a community-wide ‘royal seal of approval’; for in 1976, the Princess Royal bought Gatcombe Park, on the edge of town, from ‘Rab’ Butler, Churchill’s post-war Chancellor - and she has lived there ever since. Her children, Zara and Peter, started off in local schools, and Zara even attended the ballet class at Minchinhampton Youth Club.

Locals are used to seeing her ride her horse round the local lanes even today, though now she shares a house in Cheltenham with her partner, the Gloucester rugby player Mike Tindall. And you can often see the whole family at the Festival of British Eventing – in which Zara competes – held at Gatcombe each August (see Gatcombe International Horse Trials section for more).

The Princess Royal’s own riding career began when she was two, with a small pony called Fum. At 21, she won the individual European Three-Day Event at Burghley, as well as BBC Sports Personality of the year. Among other achievements, she gained medals at the 1975 Three-Day Event Championships in Germany, and was a member of the British team in the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games.

But she has another career that is not so extensively covered - as a farmer. The work the Princess carries out on the land she owns around Minchinhampton is a vital part of her life.  The rare breeds the Princess keeps – White Park cattle and Wiltshire Horn sheep – are ideal for grazing the unimproved grassland in which her 730-acre estate is rich; while pigs roam some of the 200 acres of woodland. “They’re Gloucester Old Spot. I couldn’t really have anything else, could I!” she has said.

“The woodland is an important part of Gatcombe. In fact, I suspect part of the peaceful aura of the place is due to the amount of woodland we have here.”
Minchinhampton used to be known as part of the ‘Royal Triangle’ during the time that Prince and Princess Michael of Kent lived down the road at Nether Lypiatt Manor, now owned by the Labour life peer Lord Drayson. The third point of the triangle is, of course, the Prince of Wales who still lives at Highgrove in nearby Tetbury.

Both the Prince and Princess are extremely supportive of their local communities. While the Prince opens Highgrove gardens up to the public (see ‘Further afield’ on this website) and is a strong voice for local farmers, the Princess has made many public appearances in and around the town. She is currently patron of both the Minchinhampton Centre for the Elderly (known as Horsfall House), and the Minchinhampton Surgery Charitable Trust, which is aiming to build a Healthy Living Centre in the town. For more information, please see the ‘charity’ section.

Meat from the Princess Royal’s farm is available from traditional butcher’s, Taylor’s, at West End, in the centre of Minchinhampton (GL6 9JA; 01453 882163).