Meghan Markle isn’t the only difficult royal to work with!
King Charles III‘s beloved Highgrove House has been slammed with allegations of a toxic workplace environment after 11 of 12 full-time gardeners quit! DANG! That’s almost everyone!!
According to the Sunday Times on Saturday, these staffers were all on the staff in 2022 and since then have been dropping like flies. Among the staff who left are two heads of gardens and a deputy head gardener who left within a year. One had worked for Charles for decades! Another employee quit after he failed his probation when it was determined he had insufficient knowledge about a particular flower — costing him the monarch’s trust. Charles apparently said of the gardener:
“Don’t put that man in front of me again.”
Damn!
Related: Did Meghan Cryptically Wish Camilla A Happy Birthday Amid Rift?!
In 2023, an employee complained about the staff’s treatment, arguing they were under-resourced and struggling to meet the King’s demanding requests. The complaint even alleged that gardeners had been physically injured trying to keep up with all the work — and the staff had suffered low morale. The staffer noted:
“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.”
One of the most recurring complaints from staff was low wages, with insiders claiming many make minimum wage, which in March 2022 was $11.98 an hour — and one student was making even less than that! Two others at the time were making $12.78, the minimum wage the next year. That’s ALL the King can afford to keep up his prized gardens?! WTF.
View this post on Instagram
Speaking to the New York Post on Monday, Jack Stooks, Charles’ former senior gardener, said:
“The world of gardening is known for its low pay and I myself ended up leaving Highgrove after 20 years.”
But you’d think the royals might be a little more generous!
Jack left as the 76-year-old’s The King’s Foundation took over management of the estate to avoid it getting passed down to Prince William. Jack pointed out:
“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.”
It’s this shift in management that also caused many to be less willing to tolerate the low pay. They used to be willing to stick it out to get some good “kudos” on their resume, but answering to a charity rather than the royal household changed the way people were willing to sacrifice their finances for a gig. Understandable!
Other complaints, per the Sunday Times, include the treatment from His Majesty. The patriarch is highly involved in the goings-on at the residence and supervises EVERYTHING. He often walks around the property inspecting things and will send notes written in thick red ink to the garden team with expectations of changes he wants done by his next return. The outlet described the notes as “strikingly specific and emotional — demanding.” Oof.
Once, he reportedly told staff to move a single weed by his pool. He also scolded them for failing to cultivate delphiniums, causing him immense disappointment and ruining one of his favorite moments of the summer. Jeez. Dramatic! He’s even known to correct staffers’ grammar and underline incorrect spelling in staff reports! Plus, he requires them to call him “Your Majesty” at all times. Sure, there are some positive notes mixed in, but it sounds like the negative outweighs all that.
View this post on Instagram
Not to mention that many of the King’s requests are downright “impossible to fulfill” because they don’t have the appropriate resources. One gardener said they were treated like “dirt,” claiming:
“There was anger boiling at the surface … very impatient, no politeness at all.”
And dealing with the King made it even more difficult to speak up for themselves:
“It was like, you should be thankful that we’ve given you a job, and you work for the King, the highest person in the country.”
Amid complaints about poor conditions, the father of two had a CRAZY idea to fix things! According to the outlet, after the invasion of Ukraine, he suggested they get war refugees to help out! What?!? Was he gonna pay them a living wage or just expected them — in the middle of severe trauma and heartbreak — to work for him for free? C’mon, dude.
Also, when The King’s Foundation took over control, his adviser Constantine “Costa” Innemée took over management of the property as the current executive director. She’s been named in several staff complaints, who say she has told them to prioritize Charles’ demands – no matter what! A gardener dished:
“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.”
But the shocker to all of this? The problems at the estate are NOT a little secret. After the 2023 complaint, The King’s Foundation brought on an independent HR consultancy, WorkNest, to investigate the claims — and their recommendations were startling. The investigation found there was evidence of “staff shortages” and “poor” management. The pay was “an issue for recruitment and retention,” and the churn was so bad that gardeners were given freedom to hire temporary workers. Other recommendations were “management training for all managers,” a pay review, and even “mental health support and counselling.” You know it’s bad when you have to bring on mental health support for your gardeners! They must be under so much pressure!
Unfortunately, despite the investigation, insiders told the publication that issues have continued. The only main result to come is that there is no longer a “head of gardens” role. Instead, a staffer was promoted to “head gardener.” The role of deputy head gardener was also removed. But even still, two more staff left around the start of the year, meaning the team has had to rely on staff from the King’s other estates, as well as career-changers and volunteers.
In response to the criticism, The King’s Foundation insisted there have been many “positive” changes at Highgrove since it took over management, such as better profits and more visitors. A statement elaborated:
“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.”
In a statement to The Post, the organization noted that it takes “staff welfare extremely seriously,” stressing:
“For the gardening team at Highgrove specifically, we regularly review guidance from the Professional Gardeners Guild for pay benchmarking.”
And yet, despite making more than $8 million in turnover during the last financial year — that’s more than any other royal residence — the Highgrove gardens STILL run off minimal resources, per the report. They have the money to do better… they just aren’t! Brutal.
With all that said, Jack insisted it’s “unfair” for Queen Camilla‘s husband to take the blame for this:
“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.”
He’s the top dog, though! Ultimately, it does come down to his behavior and standards. Just saying!
Jack, who said he never had any issues with Charles, added:
“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. 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.”
Well, maybe he will now that it’s public knowledge for the first time. But it would’ve been better if he made changes the moment issues were raised — not when he got exposed for ’em.
Reactions, Perezcious readers?? Sound OFF (below)!
-
Categories
