NEED TO KNOW<\/p>\n
One of King Charles<\/a>‘ former gardeners at his Highgrove House home has revealed the royal’s requests when he went away, sharing the story amid a reported staff exodus<\/a> in recent years.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Jack Stooks previously worked as a gardener at Highgrove House<\/a>, the King’s beloved country home in Gloucestershire, and spoke on behalf of Spin Genie<\/a> about all the protocol his team would follow when the King went away.\n<\/p>\n The British royals are known to head north to Scotland between late July and August, retreating to Balmoral Castle<\/a> for vacation and relaxation.\n<\/p>\n “The King would always know what’s going on in the garden. I think that\u2019s just the nature of the job he does, and the nature of how the royal family runs everything. They’ve got to know what’s going on on a weekly basis because otherwise things would just fall apart, or they’d lose sight of what was going on,” Stooks said about how King Charles stayed in touch.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Then-Prince Charles at Highgrove House on May 13, 2019.<\/p>\n Chris Jackson\/Getty\u00a0<\/p>\n “We would all write a diary over the week, so we knew exactly what was being done and what had been achieved that week. The King would have discussions with the head gardener on a weekly basis, but there would always be two-way conversations going on,” he explained. “These would either be in writing or in person.”\n<\/p>\n According to Stooks, the sovereign was specific about his vision.\n<\/p>\n “He would say, ‘Oh, great, this has been done. But can this be done?’ ” he said. “So the head gardener and the whole garden team knew exactly what the King wanted done that month. We would then work to make sure that all the jobs were done and kept trying to achieve those goals.”\n<\/p>\n Gardeners at work at Highgrove House on May 7, 2024.<\/p>\n Ben Birchall\/PA Images via Getty<\/p>\n King Charles privately acquired Highgrove House in 1980 and has used it as a private residence ever since, giving special attention to cultivating its gardens to legendary status.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n The King is an ardent gardener and designed the gardens to “please the eye and sit in harmony with nature,” Highgrove’s website says, and the landscape is managed organically and sustainably.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n While the public has been welcome to visit Highgrove Gardens for 30 years, speculation of a staffing snafu among the Highgrove gardening team has recently made waves.\n<\/p>\n