Faced with low pay, unrealistic demands, and poor working conditions, many of the gardeners employed by King Charles have had enough. According to a recent report published by The Sunday Times, 11 of the 12 full-time gardeners at King Charles’ Highgrove estate have left.
The report outlined some of the reasons garden staffers have decided that enough is enough. Unsurprisingly, one of the issues is the pay. Per the publication, in March 2022, three garden staffers were making the equivalent of $12.02 an hour, which was the minimum wage. Meanwhile, two others made about $12.82, which was the minimum wage the following year.
Additionally, garden staffers complained about staff shortages, which created even worse working conditions. A 2023 complaint from a staffer sparked an external investigation. The staffer alleged that the team was “overwhelmed” and “under-resourced.” He claimed it was to the point that some of them even developed physical injuries because of the taxing work environment.
Though management training and mental health support for staff were reportedly recommended after the external review, conditions did not really improve.
That might be, at least in part, because many staffers had an issue with the way King Charles treated them. He reportedly gives staff members instructions in the form of “notes in thick red ink.” The publication described Charles’ notes as “strikingly specific and emotional.” For example, he allegedly told them “their failure to cultivate his beloved delphiniums” ruined “one of his favorite moments of the summer.” He also reportedly used the notes to correct staffers’ grammar.
Some of his criticism felt especially harsh. According to the report, one staffer failed probation because he didn’t know enough about one type of flower Charles likes. Because of this lack of knowledge, Charles reportedly said, “Don’t put that man in front of me again.”
To be fair, though, The King’s Foundation runs the gardens. For that reason, one former staffer told the New York Post that blaming Charles felt unfair. “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’s former senior gardener, Jack Stooks, told the publication. “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.”
The King’s Foundation shared a statement with The Sunday Times. It read, “At The King’s Foundation, we strive to be an exemplary employer and 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.”
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