King’s Foundation responds to alleged gardener exodus at Highgrove House estate
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King Charles III allegedly can’t keep his gardeners around.
Eleven out of 12 gardeners have left the team tasked with working at Highgrove House since 2022, according to The Sunday Times. At least one staffer filed a complaint, claiming they were “under-resourced and constantly struggling to fulfill the King’s request.”
Members of the staff have “developed physical injuries trying to keep up, and that the team suffered from low morale,” the outlet reported.
When a staff member revealed “a lack of knowledge about a particular flower,” the king allegedly said: “Don’t put that man in front of me again.”
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Since 2022, 11 out of 12 gardeners have reportedly left the team working at Highgrove House. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images For Clarence House)
The King’s Foundation maintained that staff turnover is “well below” the national average when reached by Fox News Digital.
“At The King’s Foundation, we take staff welfare extremely seriously and strive to be an exemplary employer,” a spokesperson for the King’s Foundation said. “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.”
“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.”
An aerial view of Highgrove House, a royal residence located in Gloucestershire, England. (Matt Cardy/Getty Images)
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King Charles, then a prince, walking the gardens at the Highgrove House estate. (Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)
Fox News Digital can confirm only one grievance was reported between 2024 and 2025 out of almost 500 staff.
The staff have also received pay raises each year since 2022, Fox News Digital has learned. The raises add up to between 15% and 19%, in line with national averages.
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Charles walks with Prince Harry in the Highgrove House gardens. (Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)
King Charles has resided at Highgrove House since 1980. He raised his two children, Prince Harry and Prince William, with his then-wife Princess Diana.
Charles and Queen Camilla share the home today.
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