On the outskirts of a sleepy, tiny Welsh village lies a country estate which can now claim to be home to a King. Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday, her son Charles has become the UK’s first King since 1952.
Despite the expectation that the new King and his Queen Consort Camilla will spend most of their time in one of several residencies located in England and Scotland, it is also expected and hoped that they will continue to enjoy the relaxed nature of rural Carmarthenshire. You can pay your own tribute to the Queen here.
In 2007 the then Prince of Wales bought the Llwynywermod estate for around £1.2m. It is situated on a country road to the north of the village of Myddfai, about three miles south of the town of Llandovery. As you enter Myddfai, you’ll find a quiet village made up of fewer than 400 people and a small number of homes scattered over a tranquil space which surrounds an impressive church.
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It’s a wonderful spot to call home, with green hills and forestry every way you turn. For those who live in the area, they are attracted to it because of its beauty and its sense of calm. Everything moves slowly here, which is presumably why two prominent members of the Royal Family made the decision 15 years ago to come here as often as they can. So how does it feel to have a part-time neighbour who is not only one of the most recognised faces in the world, but a head of state? Charles has been to Myddfai countless times, but the next time he does so, he will do so as King.
“It’s quite difficult to say how many times a year he comes here because it’s a very private location,” said local resident Carol Dyer, chairperson of Myddfai Community Council. “And because it’s a private location and a private residence for him, the people of Myddfai have really respected that. When he is down here he has been known to go to church on a Sunday morning, and when he first moved to the area he would have an evening to meet the locals.
"One member of the council would take him around to meet everyone, and another would take Camilla around. It’s always been very impressive how he talks to people. Once the initial introduction has been made he would speak to anyone, and he’s very good at it, Camilla too. Many, many people here have had the opportunity to meet him over the years. He came to the old village hall and was really and genuinely pleased to be there to meet people, and he then officially opened the new hall.”
Before coronavirus introduced itself to the world in the early part of 2020, Charles and Camilla could quite often be seen enjoying a Sunday service at St Michael’s and All Angels, the church which everything in Myddfai surrounds. He would attend services around three or four times a year, and those services would be just like any other.
"We have very much enjoyed having him,” said church warden Judith McSwiney. “Whenever he has been here he often comes to the church. He’s no different to anyone else. We meet him at the gates and then we all enjoy a perfectly normal service, and it’s always lovely to welcome him.”
The new King’s dedication to attach himself to a small Welsh community, just like any good neighbour would, is evidenced by the fact that he paid for a defibrillator which is located outside the village hall, and that he has on more than one occasion donated prizes to be given away at local events such as the Christmas Fayre.
As for the property that he and Camilla sometimes call home, it’s an unremarkable looking piece of land which would not appear to be home to a King. It’s surrounded by beautiful countryside, but most of Myddfai is. The property doesn’t stand out, can not be seen clearly from the road, and you could easily just drive past it without a second’s thought - it just looks like the entrance to any rural home, the same as countless others in this lovely corner of Wales.
“I’m sure that’s why they bought the place,” another member of the community who lives within a mile of King Charles III’s country retreat said. “It’s very secluded and people don’t really know it’s there. And when he is there, you don’t really know that he is.
"He never bothers us. I hope he can still come here as often as he likes, but his workload is going to go up one would think so will he have as much time to come here as he did before? Nobody really knows yet what is going to happen. Security has always been here when he visits but being King is a different level altogether.”
As the country comes to terms with the death of its longest-serving Queen, the erstwhile Prince Charles must come to terms with the death of his mother. He must also do so in the public eye, with the gaze of much of the world upon him in the first days and weeks into his tenure on the throne. The hope is that Myddfai can continue to offer sanctuary to someone who is now the head of the most famous family in the world.
“All I would wish for him is that he does continue to have a level of privacy, wherever he goes,” added Mrs Dyer, who said she will be sending a card of condolence to Buckingham Palace on behalf of the local council and the wider community. “I hope he can still come to Myddfai - he’s always seemed like a person who wants to do his own thing, but I suppose things have really changed now with him being King, and we’re not sure what will happen. It’s even a bit strange calling him King Charles, because everyone here has come to know him as The Prince!”
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