Kensington Palace’s head gardener reveals 75% of his team has been furloughed as he shares behind-the-scenes snap of the Sunken Garden – but insists you ‘roll up your sleeves, eat chocolate and get to work’
- Kensington Palace’s head gardener has revealed his fighting spirit
- Is leading a scaled-back team to keep the Palace’s famous gardens in order
- Graham Dillamore, Gardens & Estates Operations Manager at Hampton Court and Kensington Palace, shared a behind-the-scenes picture of his team
- Admitted that despite his job being tough while 75 per cent of his team are furloughed, you ‘roll up your sleeves, eat chocolate and go to work’
Kensignton Palace’s head gardener has revealed 75 per cent of his team has been furloughed amid the coronavirus crisis.
Graham Dillamore, Gardens and Estates Operations Manager at Hampton Court Palace and Kensington Palace, shared the revelation on LinkedIn account this week.
It is not known whether other members of staff at Kensington Palace have been furloughed or if the furloughed employees are being paid through the Government scheme. MailOnline has contacted Kensington Palace for comment.
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson confirmed there is no furloughing of Royal Household employees at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, or the Palace of Holyroodhouse and there is none planned.
Graham Dillamore, Gardens & Estates Operations Manager at Hampton Court Palace and Kensington Palace, took to his LinkedIn account to share a behind-the-scenes picture of his team keeping the gardens at the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s London residence in order
Mr Dillamore shared details of the furloughing of staff alongside a photo showing him and his team at work in the Sunken Gardens of Kensington Palace.
He wrote: ‘Managing a Historic Garden with 75 per cent of your staff on furlough isn’t easy, so what do you do? You roll up your sleeves, find a pair of boots, eat chocolate and go to work. We all did it once and I’m sure we can all put in a proper shift again and lead from the very front.
‘In times of trouble gardeners need close leadership every step of the way ,not working from home or in some remote office.’
He joked: ‘We’re a bit tatty around the edges and don’t look too close in the borders but this thing won’t beat us.
The Kingston-based manager shared his can-do attitude, admitting that despite his job being tough while 75 per cent of his team are furloughed, you ‘roll up your sleeves, eat chocolate and go to work’
‘Garden as though you will live forever. Thank you my brilliant team’.
His post racked up 500 likes and comments from followers keen to get a look at the inner workings of a historic palace.
In 2017 Graham revealed his memories of working for Princess Diana
Replying to the post, one follower wrote: ‘Looking forward seeing al the hard work, no doubt glorious as ever! With all that nice weather it will be a jungle if not kept at bay!’
Another added: ‘Good work Graham & team! I spend a lot of time in Home Park at the moment, and the gardens always look lovey’.
In April it was revealed that almost 200 members of staff who work for Prince Charles at The Prince’s Foundation had been furloughed.
However instead of turning to the Government scheme, Prince Charles is using reserves at his charity to pay the salaries of his staff.
His former valet Michael Fawcett, who now runs The Prince’s Foundation, is understood to have taken a significant cut to his six-figure salary to ‘lead by example’.
Kensington Palace’s head gardener has revealed his fighting spirit, as he leads a scaled-back team to keep the Palace’s famous gardens in order amid the pandemic
His post racked up 500 likes and comments from followers keen to get a look at the inner workings of a historic palace