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

They’re obviously unpleasant people, Charles in particular.

You people are obsessed. King Charles is head of state, it’s reasonable that people expect him to act with some decency.

Rich people aren’t allowed any beefs - do you not know the MN rules? Only povvos are allowed to complain.

We really need to get rid of them. I always feel sorry for the kids growing up in the royal goldfish bowl.

Losing 11/12 staff in 3 years does seem to suggest there's a problem, they also currently have five open vacancies for chef's. Looking at recent HG ads for Highgrove the pay is £24,500 which seems low compared to the National Trust salary for HG of £33,000.

Does he trust William given this complex 20 year trust and foundation he has established to maintain control of the gardens and estate ? It seems like a strange arrangement between father and son but then they are strange. I'm typing this on a phone on the train I'm not a fan of doing it this way but needs must.

A lot of NT properties were gifted to the nation as ruinous death duties from the post war Labour government meant impoverished aristos had to fold. Great to see them carrying on that progressive enlightened policy with their properties today.

I am perfectly happy with non deferential-in fact I prefer it!. Just wondering what’s new- as I said “royal family pay poorly and are allergic to HR. Charles is a bit of a annoying micromanager” is hardly a scoop!

I have no feelings either way about the royal family.

Here to put in my experience as an RHS trained gardener.
When gardeners are studying or starting out they often will take low paid work to get experience especially in respected gardens. Often these type of gardens have hugely talented head gardeners (thinking Fergus Garrett at Great Dixter). Students come from all over the world to work for him for bed, board and peanuts. It's a career setting move. Highgrove would be in that category.

It's never the intention that anyone would stay in that job at that level of pay for longer than necessary. Turnover is very high.

Experienced, qualified gardeners know their worth and are in high demand. Nobody need work for the minimum wage. Far from it.

I know Highgrove Garden. It's lovely, but not pristine. There are weeds everywhere, empty spaces, plants that have gone over.......it's not the work of a meglomaniac micro manager - it's an ordinary coming and going garden just on a grand scale. The ragwort issue is a different matter and the point raised by a PP absolutely right. No responsible gardener in agricultural country would allow ragwort to stand and seed itself around. If it was Japanese Knot Weed people would have understood the need to remove it instantly.

Highgrove is a massive tourist attraction under intense security. Armed guards on every gate and in the grounds. Gardeners are generally quiet folk with a laid back, laissez faire attitude....you can see why Highgrove might not appeal or be sustainable for them with it's thousands of visitors, cameras and guns.

The Times is behind a paywall that I can't be arsed with.

If I had to garden for Murdoch or Charles, I'd choose Charles.

Those are very good points, @Pubgarden and would be my take on it, exactly.
I thought Highgrove was charming because it wasn't pristine, it wasn't a perfect garden owned by a micromanager. It is a beautiful place and I got the impression of a work in progress, but a real pleasure all the same.

About the only thing I can agree with in this article is that the low pay structure is not good.
As for the rest of it there is nothing wrong with being meticulous and having high standards for yourself and others.
Perhaps if more people were like this we wouldn’t be in such a state.
The author of this piece shows their ignorance by describing ragwort as a “single flower”. It is an invasive and poisonous weed which spreads like wild fire so KC was quite right to say it must be removed.

Employer demands that employees do their job properly shocker! I've sacked a gardener for not knowing what they are doing. I'm just an ordinary Joe who likes a nice garden but doesn't have the time to keep on top of it. Like thousands of other people. I'm paying for a job and I expect the job to be done properly and to my liking. That's a normal employer-employee relationship, isn't it? Unless you are a marxist.

Presumably nobody is forced to work there at rifle point so what exactly is the problem here?

Murdoch is a republican. His agenda has been very clear for years.

Employer randomly demands an employer is sacked without due process is a bit less acceptable. And as a horse person I have a knee jerk reaction to ragwort….

Just thinking about the "The memos are often strikingly specific and emotional" point.

Didn't Rupert Murdoch end his marriage to Jerry Hall with an 11 word email?

and look at murdoch's own relationship with is offspring

I thought the article said the employee failed their probation.

That's due process.

Careful, you’ll get stuck up there.

What due process? How long was he employed? Less than 2 years. On probation. Incompetent at job. What due process would you expect?

We have a King whose aim in life was to be a tampon. I cannot forget this.

They are at their core an emotionally avoidant, emotionally immature family with enormous privilege and a brilliant team working to spin a yarn that ingratiates them or at the very least the idea of them to the masses.

I think this sums it up although I question why so much of the public defer to them & believe the PR.

Oh bingo the false tampon story! No, this is not true. He said it would be "just his luck" to return as a tampon, not that he wanted to be one. Just my luck means quite the opposite of wish fulfillment. And that private conversation was illegally intercepted.

I don't understand why there isn't more outrage about the crappy salaries they pay to many staff which will have to be topped up by taxpayer funded benefits.

He said it would be "just his luck" to return as a tampon, not that he wanted to be one. Just my luck means quite the opposite of wish fulfillment. And that private conversation was illegally intercepted.

This doesn't make it any better, it's cringe!

It's simple market forces, isn't it? There's an obvious benefit in having service at Highgrove on your CV, particularly in relation to gardening, so people will take a lower wage as a quid pro quo.

There's an obvious benefit in having service at Highgrove on your CV, particularly in relation to gardening, so people will take a lower wage as a quid pro quo.

I'm sure Tesco & Amazon use the same argument.