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Inside King Charles and Queen Camilla’s Relationship Behind Closed Doors: ‘We See Them Still Happy’
Few people can brag that the future Queen of England made them a cup of coffee, but it happened to former royal gardener Jack Stooks.
“I was at her garden one day. She came outside and said, ‘Would you like a drink?’” he exclusively tells Closer. “I just assumed she would go in and ask somebody else, ‘Can you make him a coffee?’ She actually made it in front of me.”
For more than 20 years, Stooks’ position at Highgrove House gave him an inside peek into the lives of King Charles, 76, Queen Camilla, 77, and the rest of the royals.
“They are all just a lovely, lovely family,” says Stooks, who spoke to Closer on behalf of Fruity King, a mobile casino. Charles is quite down to earth and interested in the lives of his staffers.
“For instance, I’ve had a bad back problem,” relates Stooks. “I actually went and saw a specific physiotherapist that he had told me I needed to go and see.”
Charles tries to be attentive to all, but he has a special place in his heart for the garden crew. A committed environmentalist, Charles converted his 900-acre farm at Highgrove to organic in 1986 — long before it was popular.
“He cares about nature. He cares about the countryside,” Stooks says.
Charles also isn’t afraid of getting his hands dirty. He likes to help with hedge laying, an old process of cutting and twisting shrubs to grow into a natural fence.
“It’s a lot of work. Quite taxing,” says Stooks. “He loves all of those old fashioned things. He does them and he does them properly.”
King Charles and Queen Camilla’s Family Matters
On April 9, Charles and Camilla celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary on their first royal tour to Italy as king and queen. The couple were scheduled to attend a state dinner at Quirinale Palace that night. In a post, Camilla said they were looking forward to celebrating “in such a special place – and with such wonderful people!”
The couple’s affection and support of each other is obvious to the members of their households.
“We see them together, and we see them still happy,” says Stooks, who adds that Charles and Camilla, who each have adult children from their first marriages, have made a point of maintaining strong family ties.
“Camilla still has her family home where her children were [brought] up. Charles has his family home where his children were [brought] up,” Stooks explains. “They are able to entertain their own children in their own homes,” not a formal room at a palace.
Britain’s monarchy, Stooks believes, is in good hands with the ascension of Charles and Camilla.
“To meet with them face-to-face and have completely normal conversations is quite an unbelievable feeling,” he says. “The longer you [work for them] it just becomes normal. That’s what’s so nice about it. You realize that they are just people who care about other people.”
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