It is widely understood that Highgrove is Charles’ pride and joy with the stately home becoming a sanctuary for the King and Queen.
With his passion for nature, King Charles takes a particular interest in the award-winning garden which surrounds the estate.
However, as the garden is so cherished by the King, his high standards have ruffled more than a few feathers among staff.
Last month, reports emerged that low pay and staff shortages, coupled with the monarch’s demanding attention to detail, had prompted an exodus of horticulturists employed to keep his Gloucestershire garden in good shape.
Over the past three years, 11 of the 12-strong gardening team have quit, including the head gardener and his deputy.
However, this is not the first time the tranquil green space has been at the centre of gardener-related drama.
Writing in his book about Charles’ life – titled Rebel King – author Tom Bower has recalled the time Sir Roy Strong had a testy encounter with Charles when he was invited to Highgrove.
Bower claimed that the King ‘summoned people to drive the two hours from London for even the briefest meeting’ but it was one few refused.
King Charles III in the garden at Highgrove in June 2019. The garden is Charles’ pride and joy with the stately home becoming a sanctuary for the King and Queen
Charles with Sir Roy Strong in 1987. Writing in his book about Charles’ life – titled Rebel King – author Tom Bower has recalled the time Sir Roy had a testy encounter with Charles
He wrote: ‘Roy Strong was summoned to advise on the cultivation of hedges. He spent days with his own gardener perfecting his ideas.’
‘At the end he submitted his employee’s bill for £1,000 – and was never asked to return, or even thanked. Strong had personally inscribed a copy of his book on gardening to Charles, but it was left in a waiting room rather than included in the prince’s library.’
‘”He’s shocked by the sight of an invoice,” Strong noted. “So he likes people who don’t charge for their services”.’
Sir Roy was not the only gardening expert who Charles allegedly asked for unpaid advice and on other occasions unpaid labour.
‘”Grace and favour” took on a new meaning,’ Bower wrote.
‘To make up a floragim (a book of paintings of Highgrove’s flowers), Charles recruited over 20 artists to paint two or three flowers each, for free. Similarly, he approached Jonathan Heale, a woodcut artist, for some of this work, which he expected to be donated as a gift.’
‘One of the few artists known to have rebuffed similar demands was Lucian Freud. Would Freud swap one of his oils – which sold for millions of pounds – for one of Charles’ watercolours? “I don’t want one of your rotten paintings” Freud replied.’
More recently, an investigation by the Sunday Times found that at one point in March 2022 half of the gardening team that were on the payroll were earning minimum wage, which is thought to have played a part in the exodus of staff.
A young Charles in Highgrove. Charles’ high standards when it comes to the upkeep of the garden have ruffled a few feathers among his staff
Charles with a chef at Highgrove. Charles allegedly asked for unpaid advice and on other occasions unpaid labour from gardeners
Highgrove and its garden as viewed from above. With his passion for nature, King Charles takes a particular interest in the award-winning garden which surrounds the estate
Charles’ high interest in the upkeep of the garden is also thought to have played a part.
The King, who is known to patrol the grounds with a pair of secateurs, regularly offers feedback on the garden, writing handwritten notes to staff in red ink, expressing delight or upset at the progress of individual plants or flowers.
Read More
Exodus of gardeners upset by King Charles’ red letter feedback at beloved Highgrove garden
While some workers appreciate his interventions, others told the Sunday Times they found his feedback impolite and demoralising, it is claimed.
In late 2023, one member of staff filed a grievance against management claiming the gardening team were under-resourced and struggling to fulfil the King’s demands.
The employee’s complaint said some staff had developed physical injuries because they were overwhelmed with work and there was low morale among the team.
‘There is little management of HMTK (His Majesty the King’s) expectations and I know I would not be allowed to say we are understaffed,’ the claim said.
The gardener also alleged he was shouted at and given a dressing down by Constantine Innemee, the executive director of Highgrove and one of the King’s most trusted advisers, when he suggested to Charles that he would need a specialist member of staff if he wanted to cultivate his magnolias in a specific way.
The grievance led to an external investigation by the King’s Foundation, the charitable organisation that now runs the garden.
Charles at Highgrove in 2002. The garden at the stately home has been King Charles’ pet project for the past 45 years
Queen Camilla outside Highgrove
Although that inquiry found evidence of ‘staff shortages’ and suggested pay be reviewed if it continued to be ‘an issue for recruitment and retention’ of staff, the complaint about Mr Innemee’s management style was not upheld.
The garden at Highgrove has been King Charles’ pet project for the past 45 years.
In an interview with his friend, gardener and broadcaster Alan Titchmarsh, Charles previously explained that he was attracted to buy the property in 1980 because of its ‘blank canvas’ garden.
‘I actually planned everything myself, I did the whole thing, I chose all the plants,’ the King said.
‘I love evening patrol at the weekend. As I potter about I notice things and weed or prune bits off. I’m sure most people come here and think I don’t do anything. But I do.’
Over the past four decades the gardens have flourished, from the early kitchen garden and arboretum to the Sundial Garden, which showcases the King’s favourite delphiniums – as well as the Thyme Walk and the Islamic-inspired Carpet Garden.
In 2009 Charles received the Victoria Medal of Honour from the Royal Horticultural Society, presented by the late Queen for his services to gardening.
