King Charles sees 11 of his 12 ‘overwhelmed and underpaid’ gardeners quit Highgrove over demands
A damning new report has revealed the alleged “demands” of the nature-loving King Charles to his gardeners at Highgrove with 11 out of the 12 staffers quitting.
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A mass exodus has rocked King Charles’s sprawling Highgrove estate, with 11 of his 12 full-time gardeners resigning in the last year over allegations of a toxic workplace environment.
Exasperated staffers, who claimed they were “overwhelmed and underpaid,” have handed in their resignations after growing increasingly frustrated with the monarch’s “demands,” The Sunday Times reports.
According to the damning new report, among the 11 gardeners who have stepped down are two heads of gardens and a deputy head gardener, all of whom left within the past year.
The mass resignations followed hot on the heels of the departure of one staffer, who had worked for Charles for decades.
Another quit when he failed his probation after revealing insufficient knowledge about a particular type of flower, reportedly losing the king’s trust.
“Don’t put that man in front of me again,” Charles said of the staffer, according to the report.
The Highgrove estate, which Charles had purchased in 1980, has also been rocked by a slew of toxic workplace complaints from vexed workers.
A recurring complaint was low wages, with insiders claiming that in March 2022, three gardeners earned A$18.36 per hour (the minimum wage), while two others were on A$19.59 per hour.
“The world of gardening is known for its low pay and I myself ended up leaving Highgrove after 20 years,” the king’s former senior gardener, Jack Stooks, exclusively told The Post.
“I had a back operation and for want of a better word, did experience getting burnt out as a result, as you would doing certain jobs regularly. Things had changed at that point, the foundation took the garden on so it was the right time for me to leave.”
In late 2023, one gardener complained that the entire staff was “overwhelmed, under-resourced and constantly struggling to fulfil the king’s requests.”
The staffer claimed that some workers had sustained physical injuries trying to keep up with increasing demands, adding that morale had been at an all-time low.
“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 complaint read, according to the outlet.
It’s said that the king issues a myriad of instructions to staffers during his morning walkabout on the estate. He then expects his orders to be completed before his next return.
Staffers claimed that the king sends detailed notes in “thick red ink” to garden staff, with memos that are “strikingly specific and emotional.”
Charles also allegedly corrects grammar and underlines incorrect letters in staff reports, and requires his team to address him as “Your Majesty” at all times.
“There was anger boiling at the surface, very impatient, no politeness at all,” one gardener alleged.
Following the complaints, the King’s Foundation has since commissioned WorkNest, an independent HR consultancy, to investigate the claims.
The probe has since discovered evidence of “staff shortages” and “poor” management practice, confirming that pay was “an issue for recruitment and retention.”
According to the outlet, the report recommended “management training for all managers,” as well as “mental health support and counselling” for all employees, in addition to a pay review.
What’s more, the estate has since removed the “Head of Gardens” role, instead appointing a “Head Gardener” following the mass exodus.
One of the king’s most-trusted advisers and the current executive director of Highgrove, Constantine “Costa” Innemée, has been named in the staff complaints as instructing his employees to prioritise the king’s demands, no matter how difficult.
“If the King wanted a plant to be moved from A to B but the gardener’s professional opinion was that it would die as a consequence, Innemée’s position would be to insist on it anyway,” one former gardener alleged.
Despite generating more than A$12.3 million in turnover last financial year — higher than any other royal residence — the gardens continue to operate with minimal resources, The Post understands.
What’s more, Stooks exclusively told The Post that while Charles does oversee the foundation and its employees, the claims against him are “unfair.”
“I think the stance towards the King is unfair,” Stooks said of the outlet’s report, saying he’s never had an issue with the monarch. “I don’t think this should be aimed quite at him. He’s employed the foundation, and, yes, he’s part of the foundation, but they are running the garden.”
“The king is putting his trust in them to run it — if they’re running it incorrectly or unsuitably, that’s not actually on the King, it’s on them,” he went on. “If there are problems, the King can now fix these and I’m sure that’s exactly what he’ll now be doing as a result.”
Following the allegations, the King’s Foundation has spoken out, telling The Post that it takes “staff welfare extremely seriously.”
“We strive to be an exemplary employer,” a spokesperson for the organisation told us. “We are proud to regularly report very high satisfaction rates in our annual staff survey.”
“Our staff turnover is well below the national average, as is the number of formal grievances raised. For the gardening team at Highgrove specifically, we regularly review guidance from the Professional Gardeners Guild for pay benchmarking.”
The statement went on, “Highgrove has also seen many positive developments since The King’s Foundation became the charitable custodian of the gardens. Since 2022, the operating profit has more than doubled, a new education facility teaching traditional heritage skills to hundreds of students has been established, and visitor numbers continue to reach over 40,000 annually.”
The Post has reached out to Buckingham Palace for comment.
This story originally appeared in The New York Post.
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