‘We worked for King Charles – he always asks for one present’ | Royal | News

With estimates of his wealth varying between £640 million and £2 billion, there’s no question that King Charles III could afford to buy more or less anything he wanted. Which leaves friends, relatives, and well-wishers with a tricky problem as he reaches his 77th birthday.

“That’s the question,” says the King’s former butler, Grant Harrold. “What do you give the person who has everything?”

Grant, who worked for His Majesty between 2004 and 2011, says that the King, who has been described by Alan Titchmarsh as “the best royal gardener in history,” has always liked a gift that he could use in his beloved garden at Highgrove.

“He would always ask for things for the garden,” Grant exclusively told The Express. “He’s previously asked for benches, plants and trees. Gardening is his real passion.”

Royal gardener Jack Stooks echoed Grant’s words, telling us that The King would almost always ask for plants and things for the garden: “That’s what he tends to put on his list,” Jack said.

Jack added: “He would ask for trees, shrubs, roses, hedging. He would plant them at one of the royal gardens, either Clarence House, Buckingham Palace, Windsor, Sandringham, or up in Scotland.”

Over the years, the King has received dozens of presents from celebrities. Jack recalled: “Elton John gave him an Indian bean tree, a golden Indian bean tree that used to grow at Highgrove, which unfortunately has now died.

“Pierce Brosnan and his wife gave the King a Magnolia. The King planted it in the apple orchard by the Orchard Room; it’s a massive tree now.

“They actually once came around the garden and I met them both, and they were just so lovely and down to earth and normal. We showed them the tree that they’d gifted him years before, which was really nice.”

Jack also revealed: “Sting and Trudie Styler gave the King and Camilla a whole Fritillaria, snakes head fritillaria, and that all went into the meadow. It’s so nice when people can come and look at gifts that they’ve given the King, especially when they’re growing so well.

“I think it’s such a nice idea to have, the kind of gift giving that keeps on giving year after year with flowers, trees, with other people enjoying it as well.”

The King’s love for nature, which dates back to his early days as a student at Gordonstoun, is well-known. “My interest in gardening was always there,” the King, then Prince Charles, said in 2010.

His Majesty added: “As a child my sister and I were given a little plot at Buckingham Palace at the back of the border for growing vegetables. But it’s not until you have somewhere of your own that it becomes more possible… The thing about [Highgrove] was that it was a blank canvas; I had to start from scratch.”

King Charles, affectionately known by his 11-strong gardening team as “The Boss,” takes a very hands-on rôle at Highgrove.

Head of Gardens Brian Corr told the Royal Horticultural Society website that King Charles often carries a pruning saw on his regular tours of the garden.

The King says he particularly enjoys an “evening patrol” at the weekend: “As I potter about I notice things and weed or prune bits off. I’m sure most people come here and think I don’t do anything. But I do.”

He doesn’t shy away from physically taxing tasks such as hedge-laying either: “It keeps you relatively sane,” he said, “and it’s very good exercise.”