King Charles has reportedly acquired a £3 million country estate in Wiltshire, a move believed to be aimed at preserving Queen Camilla’s privacy at her cherished Ray Mill House.

According to The Mail on Sunday, the king privately purchased the adjacent property, The Old Mill, which sits along the River Avon and has historical ties dating back to the Norman Conquest.

The publication cites a source who revealed that plans to sell The Old Mill and convert it into a wedding venue had caused Camilla “great anxiety.”

The insider explained, “Think of it – dozens of wedding guests carousing every weekend just the other side of her fence.”

They further added, “The new arrangement is a pragmatic solution, being both a sound financial investment and a way of maintaining Her Majesty’s privacy, protection and continued enjoyment of her much-loved home, without any public funds being used.

“I know how grateful and relieved she is, not least given all the additional stresses and anxieties of the past year.”

Queen Camilla originally purchased Ray Mill House in the mid-1990s for £850,000 following her divorce from Andrew Parker Bowles. It served as her main residence from 1996 to 2003, and she now uses it as a private retreat away from the demands of royal life.