King Charles' Favorite Garden Is a Toxic Workplace: Staff
King Charles III's famous garden may look nice, but it's a miserable place to work.
A new investigation by the London Sunday Times has uncovered extraordinary allegations by the beleaguered royal gardening team at the king's private Gloucestershire home, Highgrove House.
The report claims that, of the 12 full-time gardening staff who were employed there in 2022, 11 have since resigned and been replaced—including not one but two head gardeners. The report paints a picture of a toxic workplace culture at the very heart of the king's cherished sanctuary.
Highgrove, a nine-bedroom property bought by the then-Prince of Wales 45 years ago, has long been promoted as a symbol of Charles's deep connection to nature and his eco-conscious values. The gardens, designed with organic principles and celebrated for their 'wild' aesthetic, have played a central role in his public image. More than 40,000 members of the public visit Highgrove's gardens each year, drawn by the king's reputation for environmental stewardship and horticultural passion.
It now turns out that, behind the scenes, the environment is anything but harmonious.
Former staff describe Charles as 'intensely demanding,' prone to sending critical notes written in thick red ink, and involving himself in minute horticultural details, the Times reports. He said of one gardener who made a simple mistake: 'Do not put that man in front of me again.'
One memo from His Majesty reportedly instructed staff to remove a single sprouting weed near the perimeter of a swimming pool. Another reprimanded staff for grammatical errors, and yet another chastized staff after a failed delphinium crop.
The mean memos have contributed to a steep decline in staff morale.
In 2023, one former employee submitted a formal complaint that described a team 'overwhelmed and struggling to fulfil the king's requests.'
The same complaint stated: 'There is little management of His Majesty the King's expectations, and I know I would not be allowed to say we are understaffed.'
Compounding the problem is low pay (endemic in royal households). Many gardeners at Highgrove are reportedly paid only the minimum wage, a source of frustration for staff working under high pressure with complex expectations from a demanding boss.
The King's Foundation, the charity responsible for managing Highgrove and its operations, responded to the high 'churn' of staff by commissioning an external investigation into the matter.
Strikingly, the review concluded that the working environment was so poor that it recommended providing 'mental health support and counselling' for staff, a deeply ironic twist given that Highgrove's gardens are supposed to represent serenity, balance, and peace.
The investigation also highlighted a particularly tone-deaf suggestion reportedly made by the king in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to The Sunday Times, Charles floated the idea of using Ukrainian refugees or elderly people to volunteer in the gardens. The proposal will reinforce the impression of a monarch wildly out of touch.
How the royal family treats its staff has become an interesting part of the public discourse around the monarchy, especially following repeated criticisms of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for high staff turnover and alleged poor treatment of aides. The revelation that the king himself may be presiding over an even more dysfunctional environment could invite unwelcome comparisons and fresh scrutiny.
For a monarch who has tried to present himself as a modernizer and a compassionate leader, it's less than ideal.
One gardener said staff were treated like 'dirt,' adding: 'There was anger boiling at the surface … very impatient, no politeness at all.' This person said the king's position made it impossible to speak up: 'It was like, you should be thankful that we've given you a job, and you work for the king, the highest person in the country.'
Buckingham Palace did not respond to a request for comment from the Daily Beast, but, in a brief statement to The Sunday Times, The King's Foundation maintained that staff satisfaction is high, citing employee surveys, and also noted the implementation of 'changes to improve team working and communications.'
However, it did not appear to address the core allegations of micromanagement or the cultural issues that have led to the exodus of gardening staff.
Meghan's Netflix show is officially a bomb
With Love, Meghan was positioned as a breakout lifestyle series, but its performance has fallen far short of expectations.
New data released by Netflix and reported by Deadline shows the series failed to crack the platform's Top 300 most-watched shows in the first half of 2025. It landed at No. 383, with just 5.3 million global views—comparable to a children's cartoon show called Grizzy and the Lemmings.
With Love, Meghan had already been renewed for a second season—set to feature an appearance by Chrissy Teigen later this year—and is linked to Meghan's lifestyle brand, As Ever.
Prince Harry's solo project, Polo, a documentary offering a behind-the-scenes look at the horseback sport, did unspeakably badly, ranking No. 3,436, with a mere 500,000 views globally.
Bridging the gap
Make sure you read The Royalist's colleague Tom Latchem's excellent report into the palace's heavy-handed attempt to control coverage of the king's cancer and the plans for his funeral. Reporters have been threatened with being excluded from royal briefings if they cover the story. As Latchem reports, Buckingham Palace aides went into meltdown after plans for the death of King Charles appeared in The Daily Telegraph, including the revelation that Prince Harry and Meghan will be given a prominent role at the eventual funeral.
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