King Charles and his gardening staff

I doubt he decides on wages

According to a report in the Sunday Times, the King’s Foundation, which is responsible for running Charles’s world-famous gardens at Highgrove, has seen staff turnover resulting in 11 out of 12 gardeners, including two head gardeners, exiting the position since 2022.

Is it possible the death of his mother 2022, his coronation
2023, diagnosed with cancer 2024 caused him much stress,
perhaps no because he is wealthy

Eloethan

I have read that 11 out of 12 of Charles's gardening staff have resigned from their jobs in recent years, citing poor pay, over work and Charles's constant criticisms.

I find it disgusting that these workers were apparently on low pay and have felt the need to leave their positions because they feel overworked and under valued .

Charles - a man who has never held down a normal job or had the financial pressures of ordinary people - not such a benign character as we are encouraged to believe it seems.

Needless to say, I am not a fan of royalty so no doubt I will be accused of bias but this sort of high-handed behaviour infuriates me.

Agreed.

I'd think he could look at the wages paid, be a decent employer.

Walk the talk.

Anniebach

Is it possible the death of his mother 2022, his coronation
2023, diagnosed with cancer 2024 caused him much stress,
perhaps no because he is wealthy

Those reasons are not an excuse to treat staff badly.

It looks like a lovely garden.
My perception is that Charles might be a perfectionist, a bit overly demanding, and might therefore be uber critical.

Quote silverlining48 Sat 26-Jul-25 15:44:16
Anniebach
Is it possible the death of his mother 2022, his coronation
2023, diagnosed with cancer 2024 caused him much stress,
perhaps no because he is wealthy
Those reasons are not an excuse to treat staff badly.

Offering a possible explantation is not making an excuse , please. Note , explanation and excuse

I doubt that he has any idea what his staff are paid . Like most wealthy people I doubt he would know what anything costs .
Something badly wrong if he can't keep staff .

Excuse or explanation. Neither are acceptable.

Surely many staff at Highgrove since 1980

They don't give a jot about ordinary people. They have no idea about real life.

Quote Kate1949 Sat 26-Jul-25 16:15:46
They don't give a jot about ordinary people. They have no idea about real life.

They told you this ?

Maybe having had the superb and prestigious experience of gardening at Highgrove they find 'the world is their oyster' full of keen employers with lovely estates to work on?

As Eloethan says, Charles has never held down a normal job. How can he possibly have any idea about the pressures working people face.

Quote Kate1949 Sat 26-Jul-25 16:33:42
As Eloethan says, Charles has never held down a normal job. How can he possibly have any idea about the pressures working people face.

Some seem to know he never had any pressures !

I'm sure plenty of people who don't work for members of the Royal family resign for the same reasons.

That’s quite a staff turnover though. 11 out of 12.

A lot of companies these days want staff with top knowledge, available 24/7 for the minimum pay they can get away with.

Maybe Charles wants the entire team to be top of their field (excuse the joke) but then he needs to pay them accordingly.

Smileless2012

I'm sure plenty of people who don't work for members of the Royal family resign for the same reasons.

That’s true, Smileless2012
The local authority were trying to recruit more gardening staff as numbers were dwindling, citing pressures of work, low pay and lack of respect for what they did.

Gardening is a low paid job generally, and people do move positions a lot. I don’t think that should be the case, but it’s the reality. I get the sense with the king that really he would like to be a full time gardener himself, so he’s probably both knowledgeable and challenging to work for too.
The real question I think is does he pay the going rate for the job? If he does, then it’s between him and them I think.

It’s pretty well known that working for the Royals does not mean a ‘royal’ salary.

Think most jobs with them are poorly paid, but it’s the prestige that goes with the job.

I am sure they pay what is required, but not over the odds.

If it doesn’t suit, then staff will leave, but no doubt others soon take their place.

Why would The King sit at a desk preparing for staff pay days,
the royals don’t do normal work , as stated in O.P,

Apparently he reprimanded one of the gardeners for allowing ragwort to grow near the outdoor swimming pool.
Any employer would have done exactly the same, wealthy or otherwise.
I suspect much of this has been blown out of proportion.

Has anyone sold their story , Burrell still at it 28, 28 years now

Are you not allowed to tell people off for not doing their job properly?
Charles shouldn't be the one noticing the ragwort round the pool!