Former gardener Jack Stooks worked at Highgrove House and Gardens – the residence of King Charles III and Queen Camilla. He shared what it was like working for the King
King Charles reportedly has a very ‘hands on’ approach when it comes to Highgrove’s gardens(Image: Tom Dulat, Getty Images for Ascot Racecourse)
For more than two decades, Jack Stooks quietly tended the lush grounds of Highgrove House and Gardens, the private residence of King Charles III and Queen Camilla, shaping its now-celebrated landscape with care and precision.
Now, he’s revealing what lies behind the hedges and heritage blooms; offering insights into the monarch’s personal involvement with Highgrove House and Gardens. Jack was tasked with sculpting the landscape garden on the estate and found the “normality” and hands-on nature of Charles’ approach quite surprising.
Initially finding it “quite odd” to be directed by the King himself, Jack grew to appreciate the direct involvement of someone with such high status.
“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 recounted.
Jack worked in the grand gardens of Highgrove House, one of the King’s favoured residences
According to Jack, a particular comment made on a Monday morning revealed the King’s true character, reports OK!.
“He would be like, ‘This needs doing, that needs doing’,” Jack said. Find out What’s On in Wales by signing up to our newsletter here
“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 tenure, Jack not only worked closely with Charles but also encountered other royals including Queen Camilla, Prince William and Princess Kate, as well as Prince Harry.
In the Netflix documentary featuring Harry and Meghan, Meghan expressed her astonishment at the “formality” of the Royal family, saying, “I guess I started to understand very quickly that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside,” as she reflected on meeting William and Kate for the first time.
She noted: “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.”
Jack Stooks lifted the lid on his twenty years of service at the King’s residence
However, Jack, speaking on behalf of Prime Casino, offered a different perspective on the royals, including Charles, suggesting they are surprisingly “normality”.
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 also praised the King as a “trooper” who persevered through his cancer ordeal without shirking his duties.
He continued: “You see the amount of work he’s still doing and he’s just not giving up,” adding, “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.”