Charles retreats to Sandringham, an estate with brisk winds and splendid isolation

Upon receiving his first treatment for cancer, Britain's King Charles III retreated to Sandringham House, a private estate

LONDON -- Upon receiving his first treatment for cancer, Britain's King Charles III retreated to Sandringham House, a private estate where the monarch has long taken refuge while walking and shooting along the windswept North Sea coast of eastern England.

Sandringham, the private home of the last six British monarchs, sits amid parkland, gardens and working farms about 110 miles (180 kilometers) north of London. It has been owned by the royal family since 1862, passing directly from one monarch to the next for more than 160 years.

This history has made Sandringham a special place for Charles and his entire family. But the king has gone there for a very practical reason, said former BBC royal reporter Michael Cole.

“He needs isolation, and Sandringham of all his royal properties, with the possible exception of Balmoral, where the weather is not terribly good at this time of year, is isolated,’’ Cole said. “It’s only 100 miles from London, but it is surrounded by its own grounds. … He can be separate, because when you are having cancer treatment of any kind, infection must be avoided.’’

Charles, who started visiting the estate as a child, first found sanctuary at Sandringham when he was a student at Cambridge University and later after his marriage to Princess Diana collapsed.