The Queen is looking for a new gardener – and they get to live at Buckingham Palace

What an incredible job!


The Queen Buckingham Palace garden
On 17 April 2019

The Queen is looking for a new gardener to join the team at Buckingham Palace, and the role has some impressive perks for the successful applicants. Although the starting salary is relatively low at £18,100 per year depending on experience – equivalent to £69 per day – the monarch's new gardener will get to live at the palace and have all of their meals provided for them.

Not only will the royal gardener work on maintaining the gardens at Buckingham Palace, where some 30,000 guests are welcomed each year for the Queen's summer garden parties, but also the surrounding areas of the Palace and St James's Palace, where several members of the royal family live, including Princess Anne and Princess Beatrice.

© Photo: Rex

The Queen is hiring a new gardener to live and work at Buckingham Palace

The job description states that the gardener will play a part in "helping to shape the future of the gardens" by planting new shrubbery, bulbs and seasonal flower displays, as well as maintaining the current plants and lawns to keep them in pristine condition.

GALLERY: Inside the Queen's home at Buckingham Palace

With a full-time, five days a week contract, it sounds like the dream job for green-fingered applicants, whose work is promised to "be seen, and admired, by a world-wide audience". However, not just anyone can apply. You'll be expected to have a minimum qualification of Horticulture NVQ2, as well as experience operating a wide range of garden machinery and a clean driving licence. Applications close on 24 April and it's sure to prove popular with keen gardeners who would love the opportunity to work – and live – in Buckingham Palace.

© Photo: Getty Images

The Queen welcomes 30,000 guests to the palace gardens each year

The Queen is known to be very fond of the gardens at her official London residence, which span 39 acres and features a three-acre lake, rose garden, around 200 trees and more than 350 types of wildflowers. Her Majesty was seen showing Sir David Attenborough around the grounds for her 2018 documentary, The Queen's Green Planet, in which he made the wise recommendation that the sun dial be moved into a new position after realising it had been placed in the shade.

MORE: Inside Prince Charles and Camilla's London home, Clarence House

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