'I worked for King Charles for 21 years and one Monday comment showed all'

Irish Daily Mirror

24-06-2025

King Charles III's former gardener has spilled the beans on what it was truly like tending to the Royal greenery. Jack Stooks, who served for 21 years at Highgrove House and Gardens, the family home of King Charles and Queen Camilla, has given an inside look into his role as a landscaper for the estate until his exit in 2024.
Jack talked about how he was initially taken aback by the "normality" of the monarch and his proactive involvement in the garden's upkeep.
He found it "quite odd" to receive instructions directly from the King at first but grew to appreciate the monarch's hands-on style of management.
"He was very much on the ball all the time. If he came home at the weekend, he would be out in the garden checking what's been done, what hasn't been done," Jack divulged.
Apparently, there was one regular remark made by King Charles on a Monday morning that really demonstrated his true nature, reports OK!.
"He would be like, 'This needs doing, that needs doing'," Jack recounted, adding that it was gratifying to work for someone so observant and involved.
"He was interested in the garden he knew what was going on. So, we all had the sense of satisfaction that we would get something right and know that it was actually being enjoyed and admired by the person who owns it."
Throughout his time at Highgrove, Jack not only had interactions with King Charles but also encountered Queen Camilla, Prince William and Princess Kate, along with Prince Harry.
Meghan Markle expressed her surprise at the level of formality within the Royal Family in her Netflix documentary with Prince Harry. Recalling her first meeting with Prince William and Kate Middleton, she noted, "I guess I started to understand very quickly that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside."
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Meghan had anticipated a more relaxed atmosphere behind closed doors, saying, "[I thought there would be] a forward-facing way of being, and then you close the door and go, 'You can relax now', but that formality carries over on both sides. And that was surprising to me."
However, Jack, who has had interactions with the Royal Family, including King Charles, described them as surprisingly "normal". Speaking on behalf of Prime Casino, he shared, "I think for me it's just the normality of how they are as people, and, you know, I think when people are looking in from outside they go, 'Oh why do we have to give them our little bit of money every year? We shouldn't have to do that, how dare they, he's not our King, he is not this, he's not that', but the amount of work they do for the country is just immense."
Jack praised King Charles, calling him a "trooper" for his dedication to his duties despite his health struggles. "You see the amount of work he's still doing and he's just not giving up," Jack said.
"He could just say, you know, 'I'm ill, I can't do this' and the country will go. Okay, fine But he's like no, I've got a sense of duty.
"He just forces himself to carry on and carry on, and it's amazing to see that and see how they are as people for that. Camilla as well, the Queen, she could step back and not do that much. But again, you know, there she is supporting him all the time."