Jamie Butterworth has spoken out about what it was like meeting the King and the four-word warning he was given before delivering some plants to him
10:46, 29 Aug 2025Updated 13:58, 29 Aug 2025
Monty Don with King Charles and Queen Camilla(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
A Gardeners’ World star has recalled a cheeky warning King Charles gave him before delivering flowers to the monarch.
Jamie Butterworth, 30, has become a star of the gardening world in recent years. He won gold for his RHS Chelsea Flower Show garden in 2022 before creating a feature garden at the RHS Hampton Court Flower Show in 2024. He’s also appeared on iconic BBC show Gardeners’ World this year.
More recently, he grew 10,000 plants for the Gucci Cruise 2025 show and helped create a rose garden at this year’s Ascot. As a result, he has caught the eye, not just of gardening royalty, but actual royalty too.
Jamie, who hails Monty Don as his hero, has spoken about the time he was introduced to King Charles by presenter Jo Whiley at the Chelsea Flower Show. Jamie already had a relationship with the Royal Family, as his nursery supplies plants to Windsor Castle, but he had never been introduced to his client.
Jamie Butterworth has been dubbed Monty Don’s protégé (Image: Lynn Keddie/PA)
Speaking to the Times about the moment, Jamie says he was surprised to find out that the King, a keen gardener himself, knew him by name.
He said: “Jo introduced me as I was standing next to Monty, and the King said, ‘I know Jamie — you are delivering plants to me on Wednesday. Please don’t be late.’”
In fact, it is the King’s love of gardening and appreciation for the environment as a whole that has given Jamie an appreciation for how equalising gardening is.
He explained: “I think that’s one of the wonderful things about gardening. It’s the greatest leveller –– it unifies people. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you’re from, what your background is — anyone can garden.”
Jamie’s renown within the gardening world has sense led him to appear on Gardeners’ World several times since April last year, appearing on the same show as legendary co-host Monty who he revealed has been giving him some pieces of advice to help him along the way.
Meanwhile, has Jamie looks ahead to potentially taking up Monty’s mantel, there has been growing speculation as to when that would be. Speaking to The Garden Magazine, Monty spoke about winding down some of his activities for the rest of year.
Monty Don has no intention to stop presenting Gardeners’ World yet(Image: Ben Montgomery, Getty Images)
The 70-year-old said: “In April I started filming a new travel series going from the source of the Rhine to the sea visiting gardens in Italy, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Germany, Holland and France.
I’ve got a couple of gardens that I’m working on for charity and have more talks to do. That will take me through until November. I’ve decided I won’t do any more tours after that.”
Despite this, Monty has suggested in the past he would not leave Gardeners’ World until he absolutely had to.
Ahead of his 69th birthday he said: “I’m now 68, I was going to stop when I was 65. I’ll now go on till I’m 70 and then reconsider.
“The reason for that is it’s not so much wanting my garden back, although there’s a strong element of that… It’s just that, whilst I’ve still got energy, there are lots of other projects I want to do that mean I can’t be here every week.”
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