King Charles’ Aide of 21 Years Explains Why Prince William Will Snub a Key Duty: ‘He’s Got His...’
Prince William, as heir to the throne, inherited many duties and responsibilities from his father, King Charles, upon the latter’s accession to the throne. This included looking after some of the lavish royal estates as well as private properties such as Highgrove House and Garden — Charles and Queen Camilla’s favorite residence. Despite the house being dear to his father, William is expected to snub the duty for a number of reasons.
Highgrove House has always been special to the monarch, as he has memories of many days spent there. Charles' grandmother, the Queen Mother, gifted him the residence, which became a family home to him and his ex-wife, the late Princess Diana. The monarch saw his two sons grow up in the house, and it was later also a place of refuge for him and Camilla. The Prince’s Foundation now rents the house from the Duchy of Cornwall to protect it. However, according to Charles’ former gardener of 21 years, Jack Stooks, William may never move into the house. According to the OK! magazine, Stooks explained, “Before he became King, I think the idea was that they needed to make sure that the garden was actually protected. So I think he thought that William probably wouldn't move into Highgrove once he became King, so the idea was, 'Let's protect it somehow,' so it was given over to the Prince's Foundation. So the Prince's Foundation now rents the garden from the Duchy of Cornwall.”
The gardener added, “The King rents his house from William and William rents two of his houses from the King, so yeah, it's quite odd, isn't it?" Commenting also on the Prince of Wales’ take on the responsibility of the house, Stooks said, “I think that William's obviously got his own family now, so he's got his own family unit and they've been brought up at Armer Hall, and also now at Adelaide Cottage. Highgrove was very much his mum and dad's home [where they] were brought up, so it's like a family home...” In the gardener’s view, the Waleses' moving to Highgrove House would be an unfair decision for Kate Middleton, given the constant comparison between her and her late mother-in-law, Diana, the former Princess of Wales.
The Highgrove house has always been closer to Charles’s heart, and he also looked after its gardens himself. Stooks shared about how the King would spend his weekends "very much on the ball all the time." He said, "If he came home at the weekend, he would be out in the garden checking what's been done, what hasn't been done.” Charles allegedly had a question for Stook every Monday, as the latter claimed, “He would be like, 'This needs doing, that needs doing.’ So, it was really good to know that you're working for somebody who actually took everything in.”