'King Charles was my boss for 21 years – one comment showed his true colours'

King Charles III's former gardener of 21 years has shared what it was really like tending to the landscape garden in the Royal grounds. Jack Stooks took charge of Highgrove House and Gardens, one of the King Charles and Queen Camilla's favourite residencies in Gloucestershire.

Reflecting on his time working for the monarch, he admitted to being taken aback by the "normality" and hands-on approach of the monarch at first. Initially finding it "quite odd" to be directed by the King himself, Jack grew to appreciate the high level of involvement from someone of such a high status.

"He was very much on the ball all the time. If he came home at the weekend, he would be out in the garden checking what's been done, what hasn't been done," Jack revealed.

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According to the gardener, the King made a particular comment at the start of the week, which proved just how much he loved his garden.

"He would be like, 'This needs doing, that needs doing'," Jack recalled. "So, it was really good to know that you're working for somebody that actually took everything in.

"He was interested in the garden he knew what was going on. So, we all had the sense of satisfaction that we would get something right and know that it was actually being enjoyed and admired by the person who owns it."

Throughout his tenure, Jack not only worked closely with Charles but also encountered Queen Camilla, Prince William and Princess Kate, as well as Prince Harry.

In Harry and Meghan Markle's Netflix documentary, the latter said she was startled by the "formality" of the royals behind the scenes. "I guess I started to understand very quickly that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside," she told the cameras, while reflecting on her first meeting William and Kate.

She added: "[I thought there would be] a forward-facing way of being, and then you close the door and go, 'You can relax now', but that formality carries over on both sides. And that was surprising to me."

In association with Prime Casino, Jack said this wasn't the case for him.

He remarked: "I think for me it's just the normality of how they are as people, and you know I think when people are looking in from outside they go, 'Oh why do we have to give them our little bit of money every year? We shouldn't have to do that, how dare they, he's not our King, he is not this, he's not that', but the amount of work they do for the country is just immense."

Jack went on to praise the King for his unwavering dedication to his duties despite battling cancer. "You see the amount of work he's still doing and he's just not giving up," Jack observed. "He could just say, you know, 'I'm ill, I can't do this' and the country will go, 'Okay, fine', but he's like, 'No, I've got a sense of duty'.

"He just forces himself to carry on and carry on, and it's amazing to see that and see how they are as people for that. Camilla as well, the Queen, she could step back and not do that much. But again, you know, there she is supporting him all the time."