When His Royal Highness Prince Charles and Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall paid a visit to Monmouthshire in 2015, they visited three venues close to Monmouth.

Their first was to the Humble by Nature at Penallt where the two received a warm welcome and saw first-hand how a small farm can be kept alive by diversification..

They then departed for separate venues with the future King dropping in to High Glanau Manor on a private visit while Camilla went to Ancre Hill Vineyard.

His Royal Highness had requested the visit to High Glanau following a conversation with owner Helena Gerrish.

Prince Charles, who is very fond of gardening, was shown around the Edwardian gardens by Mrs Gerrish.

Alongside her husband, Hilary Gerrish, the couple were inspired by the late Avray Tipping to restore the garden to its former glory.

Prince Charles took in the beauty of the gardens and appeared thoroughly impressed by the wide range of colours and flowers, stopping many times to admire the plants.

We spoke to Helena Gerrish and Penny Thomas (from the Nelson Garden) about their memories of the visit to High Glanau and their brush with the man who became King Charles III.

“We were honoured in 2015 when Prince Charles asked to visit our garden at High Glanau Manor,” said Helena. He was particularly interested in the delphiniums in the herbaceous border.

“He visited the pergola, the original 1923 glasshouse and octagonal pool and met members of the committee of The Nelson Garden, the Campaign for the Protection of Rural Wales, and the Gwent National Garden Scheme,” said Helena.

Penny Thomas added: “You can imagine how thrilled I was, in the summer of 2015, to be invited by Mrs Helena Gerrish to come and meet Prince Charles at her amazing garden.

“Some years before I had met Helena at St Michael’s Church in Mitchel Troy and asked her if she would help our little gardening group with the restoration of the Nelson Garden in Monmouth,” explained Penny.

“She kindly agreed, and shared with us her extensive knowledge of historic gardens and design expertise.

“Helena had invited the Prince to come and see her beautiful garden at High Glanau on her visit to Highgrove. He agreed to include it in his annual visit to Wales, when he meets volunteers involved in community projects.

“Royal Tours are planned well in advance, and for the trial visit, Helena had made a chocolate cake to go with the coffee, but when she went to fetch the cake, her dog Monty had got there first!

“So, a note was made that Monty was to be safely out of the way on the day of the royal visit. On that day, our little group of volunteers waited in an allocated area to meet Prince Charles. We saw him approaching with an army officer, Beacon photographer Des Pugh and Helena, who made the introductions.

“Once Prince Charles started asking about the Nelson Garden I was away! I don’t recall what I said, but I could happily have talked for half an hour or more.

“He has that royal knack of listening intently and smiling in a genuine and kind way. The chat was all too brief, and the Prince was whisked away to plant a commemorative tree.

“We saw him again in the drawing room for refreshments. His signature stretched across a whole page of the visitors book, and it was simply Charles, in large confident writing. I feel so proud to have met the future King,” she added.

While Prince Charles was admiring the gardens at High Glanau, Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Cornwall visited Ancre Hill Vineyard, Monmouth.

She met then Mayor of Monmouth, Cllr Graham Pritchard and Deputy Mayor Cllr Terry Christopher, along with the chairman of Monmouth and District Chamber of Trade and Commerce outside the Ancre Hill house.

Her Royal Highness also met owners Richard and Joy Morris, before being led to the vines by son David Morris, who talked to the Duchess about the grapes method of growing and the low environmental impact techniques used by the vineyard to produce its wine. She was shown the new cellar room building, officially opening the eco-friendly building in which the wine is made and stored, and unveiled a plaque.

She tried some of the wine, a 2014 Chardonnay and a Pinot Noir, and was very complimentary about both, describing the white Chardonnay as “very good, it has a very subtle taste” and the red Pinot Noir as “delicious, very interesting.”