King Charles to take on 'challenging' project in A Royal Grand Design
King Charles III has admitted it was an 'appalling risk' to attempt to renovate Dumfries House for A Royal Grand Design.
The upcoming ITV documentary will see the newly crowned monarch work to save the stately home in Ayrshire to regenerate the local community.
King Charles raised around £45 million to help restore the estate, explaining: "There are very, very few such houses left."
Read more: 'The Crown' season five: Who is Dominic West, the new Prince Charles?
The noted conservationist added: "If we hadn't stepped in, saved it, all this wonderful [Thomas] Chippendale furniture would have literally gone everywhere and we would have been left with a completely empty shell of a house."
Charles further explained what he hoped to achieve through the regeneration: "I wanted to try and make a difference to the local area. It had many of the worst indices of unemployment and ill health and everything else.
"I'm one of those people who likes taking on the most difficult challenges. I felt it was worth taking this appalling risk and taking out such a big loan."
Charles took a very hands on role in the restoration of the house, overseeing developments with a bunch of experts.
Dumfries House also now employs 250 people, up from 15 when Charles begun his restoration of the estate.
Jim Brown, an executive producer on A Royal Grand Design, said: "I remember [the King] saying to me 12 years ago: 'This is not about things; this is about people, people living in the most deprived area of the UK – people with very little future – very little to look forward to.'
"When we started filming in 2010, less than 15 people worked on the estate. When we wrapped in 2022, over 250 people were in full time employment at Dumfries House."
King Charles III will also be appearing on a special episode of The Repair Shop.
A Royal Grand Design airs on Wednesday 30 November at 9pm on ITV1.
Watch below: King Charles III 'has hit the ground running'