Years ago, Jack Stooks was paying a visit to his aunt and uncle when the future King of England walked in.
The now King Charles III had visited the house to pop to the loo, and it ended up landing Stooks a decades-long career alongside the royal.
“I weirdly met him at my uncle and aunt’s house in Hereford,” Stooks tells Today.
Watch the video above.
Royal gardener Jack Stooks worked at King Charles’ Highgrove House for 21 years. (Nine)
“He came to church recital and it was during half time he came actually to the house to do a wee, if anything.”
It was the first time Stooks met Charles and he thought, “This guy seems so normal”.
So Stooks, who is a gardener, ended up deciding to write to Charles asking to work for him.
“That’s how I got the job,” he says.
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Stooks met the King after he popped into his aunt and uncle’s place to “do a wee” and ended up getting a job. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
Stooks went on to work alongside Charles for 21 years as a gardener at the royal residence Highgrove House in Gloucestershire, England.
The now-retired royal gardener says that he learned a lot from Charles, who is a passionate gardener himself.
“Coming to Highgrove, you actually realise you’re actually learning from him as well because he’s got such a passion for the countryside, for organics, for nature, the farming community” he says.
“He’s really got his sort of heart and soul in the country and learning that from him I think was so important.”
Stooks worked in the gardens of Highgrove House for over two decades. (Getty)
Stooks adds that Charles was “very hands on” with the gardens even when he was away for royal engagements.
“Every week he was wanting to know what’s going on in the gardens,” he says.
“We would have to send reports every week of this has happened, that’s happened.
“Not only would he read them, he would come back with, ‘What about this, has this been done? Oh also we need to work out what were going to do in three months’.
“So he was very much on the ball all the time. And then when he was at home, you would suddenly find him weeding a border or pulling out nettles.”
It’s a passion that Stooks says Charles shares with his wife Queen Camilla.
The pair have separate residences and gardens, both of which Stooks worked in over the years.
“She knew exactly what was going on in the gardens, what needed weeding, what didn’t.”
Stooks explains that she would also come out to chat with him and make him coffee.
Charles and Queen Camilla are both passionate gardeners. (Tim Rooke – Pool/Getty Images)
While his work has been focused in the gardens, Stooks has spent plenty of time inside the King’s home which he says is “amazing”.
“It’s not as ostentatious as people would think,” he says.
“It’s a Georgian style home and it is full of family photos, it’s full of some beautiful art. It’s full of antique rugs. It’s just everything you would expect from a country home in England.
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Now Stooks has retired from his role at Highgrove House and carries with him fond memories from his years working alonside Charles.
And while he may be retired, his profession still holds a special place in his heart.
“I still love gardening, given garden advice, doing talks about gardening online, cruise ship talks,” he says.
“So there’s so much that I’m doing now. So I do find I’m probably as busy, if not busier.”
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