King Charles - disquiet at Highgrove & the gardeners’ exodus - SUNDAY TIMES INVESTIGATION

[vera99]

Murdoch is growing bolder in his dotage — first with Trump, and now with another bombshell investigation into the grasping, stagnant, and catastrophically out-of-touch Windsors. And yet we keep pumping more public money into this so-called dysfunctional family.

What you need to know

King’s demands, staff shortages and low pay led to gardener exodus at Highgrove

Royal charity which runs gardens told to offer mental health support after formal investigation

Charles has lost 11 of 12 garden staff since 2022 including two head gardeners who quit within a year

Monarch said of one worker: “Do not put that man in front of me again”

After Ukraine invasion King proposed plugging staff shortages with war refugees or the elderly

At one point half of staff were on minimum wage

https://archive.ph/fspT3#selection-1495.0-1501.155

There is no suggestion that that is the case. There are various courses held at Highgrove, but they seem to be mostly in traditional “arts and crafts” specialist woodwork, embroidery, that sort of thing. No “Advanced Ragwort Management”!

They would be internal classes, not advertised on the website if for staff

Pretty sure it would be mentioned as part of the outlining of the things that they do.

The Royal Households page states that sponsorship for vocational qualifications is provided to employees.

I don’t doubt it. What’s that got to do with paying crap wages?

Eh? You were discussing whether provision of staff training at Highgrove and I responded to that. Reread your last few posts.

There is no suggestion anywhere that the Highgrove gardeners are on vocational training programs!

I too doubt they are. Poor wages are paid for the kudos of working at Highgrove, but you can't pay kudos into the Bank.
Charles could easily fix this if he wanted. He doesn't. (And yes I know it's connected to the Charity before anyone says)

Well this is interesting
d3lr2d2gcv6nei.cloudfront.net/assets/downloads/80e2e76e5fa49a5528cb80a2d822e74c/kf-apprentice-gardener-hg.pdf

"Training, tutoring and assessment
Support from WCUC’s Lackham for study and assessment to be delivered one day a week at
Lackham campus during term time only (delivered remotely if needed) and in the workplace with
a visit from your tutor every 10 to 12 weeks.
As part of the apprenticeship programme, you’ll need to record a minimum of 6 hours per week
‘off-the-job’ training time. This can include college attendance, work shadowing, training,
workshops, online learning, tutor sessions, revision, webinars, industry visits – anything that
supports your learning on the apprenticeship and supported by your dedicated assessor."

You put the kudos into your bank account via your CV.
Gardeners have been working in nationally and internationally recognised gardens with exceptional head gardeners for decades in order to further their careers long term.

This point has already been made many times throughout this thread.

I have read the thread, I do know the point has been made.

However, a living wage is needed too.

it is interesting-good to see apprenticeships. And the wages of the Head Gardener the apprentice reports to and the Gardeners she/he works alongside?

So there is an apprenticeship scheme at Highgrove.

Also, just because some organizations justify poor wages “because kudos”-that is no reason for the King, who is supposed to provide an example and a role model should do the same.

Except the king isn't running Highgrove. The charity is running Highgrove.

Mayor Bloomberg of NYC used make anonymous gifts of a million dollars to certain NYC non-profits each year when he was mayor. Maybe Charles should donate half a million pounds yearly to the Highgrove charity to supplement the salaries. Perhaps he can use it as a tax write-off.

Highgrove's current head gardener trained at the National Botanic Gardens in Dublin, has a Master of Horticulture award from the Royal Horticultural Society, has worked in horticulture for many years and lectured in horticulture at Hadlow College.

She must feel that the wages and opportunity at Highgrove are enticing as she must have her pick of jobs with that CV.

Not just Kudos, but experience, training and the opportunity to learn with very experienced experts in exceptional gardens.

When I was starting out in horticulture I knew I contributed little in the way of skills and experience and expected to be paid accordingly. Then, as I gained skills and qualifications my pay increased and I moved on when the time was right.

If I'd worked for Mrs Jones down the road, the council or royalty I would have been unrealistic to expect otherwise. It's like that in most jobs isn't it? Junior doctors being a good example.

You would not have expected to be paid less than your peers with other employers, though. It is fascinating how people can’t bring themselves to criticise the King even the tiniest bit. He’s a Chevalier sans peur et sans reproche whatever he does!

Charles clearly isn't beyond reproach because the press (his entire lifetime) and 26 pages of posters here have been doing exactly that.

I trained in an internationally acclaimed university botanic garden, an RHS garden and with the National Trust. I could almost certainly have earned more elsewhere and I knew that. I wanted to learn from people who were top of their game in sensational gardens. I loved every minute and it more than paid off in the long run both personally and professionally. You just don't seem to appreciate the market you're relentlessly banging on about.

So does anyone know just what this charity does then? I mean, I can’t imagine a charity would have the remit “providing slave-wage labour for toffs”!

I know I keep banging on, but what is its raison d’etre in fact?

It does some pretty amazing stuff. https://kings-foundation.org/

Thanks, Curlew!

Hi everyone – just back from a fabulous weekend at Latitude, where I had the privilege of seeing a powerful new play directed by Mark Thomas about the Diggers.

They were on the Parliamentarian side during the English Civil War, when the monarchists were defeated – but this wasn’t just about battles and kings. It was about real social history. Not the rulers and tyrants with their pomp and ceremony, but ordinary people, struggling at the bottom, demanding justice and equality.

One of the most moving moments came with the words of Gerrard Winstanley, a Digger and radical visionary. In 1649, he wrote:

"In the beginning of time, the great Creator Reason made the earth to be a common treasury... not one word was spoken in the beginning, That one branch of mankind should rule over another. But since human flesh began to delight himself in the objects of the Creation more than in the spirit and Reason of his Maker, he fell into blindness of mind, and unbelief of heart; and so losing the glory of the Creation, he fell into slavish fear, and beastiality... Then began covetousness, pride, envy, hypocrisy, and thieving to rule in man, and mankind began to make laws to enslave one another.
And hereupon the Earth, which was made to be a Common Treasury of relief for all, both beasts and men, was hedged into enclosures by the teachers and rulers, and the others were made servants and slaves. And this is the beginning of particular interest of landlords and tenants, buying and selling of land, and the oppression of the poor by the rich. And thus you see that from the beginning it was not so.
Therefore we do say, and declare it openly to the whole world, that the earth ought to be a common treasury for all."

Those words still burn with truth today.

And I’m sorry, but Charles Windsor – with all his talk of “harmony” – sits atop a mountain of entrenched privilege. It’s not harmony when one family owns swathes of land while millions struggle. The land belongs to everyone. The Diggers knew it in 1649. It’s still true now.

Hey @vera99 have you read The Book of Trespass by Nick Hayes?

It's not KC who's allegedly paying the MW to the gardeners - it's a charity and possibly one which he's tried to help by giving them the use of Highgrove Gardens.

Or possibly he gave it to a charity as a way of cutting down his own costs? I find that more likely.