Where does Princess Anne live - and can you visit Gatcombe Park?

The Princess Royal is known for being one of the hardest working members of the Royal Family - but where does Princess Anne live and can you visit the royal residence?

Just like royal fans are keen to know where does Prince Edward live, where is Sandringham and is Windsor Castle open to the public, many have questions about the home lives of other members of the Royal Family - especially as the properties often have a rich history behind them.

There's many members of the royal line of succession to keep up with, but one royal member that has enjoyed enduring popularity is Princess Anne, and the public are curious to know where she lives and more about her home life.

Where does Princess Anne live?

Princess Anne lives at Gatcombe Park, in the Cotswolds. Within the reported 730 acres of parkland is the Grade II listed manor house where the Princess Royal lives, which was built in the 18th Century.

The house reportedly has five main bedrooms, four secondary bedrooms, four reception rooms, a library, a billiard room, and a conservatory. There are also several other royal homes within the estate inhabited by members of Princess Anne's immediate family.

According to Historic England, Gatcombe Park was built in the 1770s. In 1814, the estate was sold to the MP and political economist David Ricardo, who had made his fortune on the stock exchange. He employed George Basevi to improve and add to the house, but since then Gatcombe has been very little altered. 

Gatcombe Park remained in the Ricardo family until 1937, when it was sold to the art collector Samuel Courtauld. During the 50s it was let, until the 70s when Princess Anne moved in.

Where is Gatcombe Park?

Gatcombe Park is in the Cotswolds, located between the villages of Minchinhampton and Avening in Gloucestershire, south west England. 

The closest royal residence to Princes Anne's home is Highgrove House, the country residence of King Charles III, which is six miles away away in the parish of Doughton, near Tetbury.

Who owns Gatcombe Park?

Gatcombe Park is privately owned. It was bought by the Queen in 1976 as a gift for Princess Anne and her then husband, Captain Mark Phillips.

The Queen bought the property from Conservative politician R.A. Butler as a wedding present for her only daughter, who married Captain Phillips in 1973. The couple raised their two children on the estate, and following their divorce in 1992, Mark moved into nearby Aston Farm.

Gatcombe Park is a working farm, with Anne once telling the BBC's Countryfile, "It's really nice to come back and just be yourself in an area like this. Being able to take on a place like this – for me, I’ve got to make it work," she said. "This is not something that comes free, this has got to pay it’s way, otherwise I can’t stay here."

Who else lives at Gatcombe Park?

Princess Anne lives at Gatcombe Park with her husband, Sir Timothy Laurence, her two children, Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips, and her five grandchildren. 

The Princess Royal and her husband reside in the main house, while the rest of the family live in surrounding smaller homes within the estate. 

Princess Anne married Sir Timothy Laurence in 1992 - the same year her marriage with Captain Mark Phillips ended - and he moved in with The Princess Royal and her two children, who were 11 and 15 at the time.

After Zara married Mike Tindall, a former English rugby player, the couple lived in Cheltenham together for a couple of years. But, in 2013, they sold their property and moved onto the Gatcombe estate, where they now live with their three children, Mia, Lena and Lucas.

Peter Phillips also lives on the Gatcombe estate with his wife Autumn and two children Savannah and Isla. After the couple split in February 2020, they now live in separate parts of the vast estate.

Is Gatcombe Park open to the public?

Gatcombe park isn't usually open to the public, but it often hosts equestrian events, which allow the public entry to the grounds.

The royal residence has hosted the Festival of British Eventing since 1983, an event that covers three disciplines of horse eventing - dressage, show jumping and cross country - and is said to be the triathlon of horse shows.

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