On Saturday, the king’s love of music will be on full display. In the process, he’s courted the ire of British architects, some of whom have labeled his meddling unconstitutional. On several occasions, he intervened directly seeking to halt glass-and-steel building projects. Starting in the 1980s when he was Prince of Wales, Charles used speeches, books and television programs to repeatedly attack modern architecture and promote alternatives based on classical forms. In the 18th century, George III built a superlative collection of 65,000 books that formed the heart of the British Library.īut where previous monarchs were known for their passions, Charles has often been defined by the things he doesn’t like. His son, Charles II, reopened Britain’s theaters after puritan insurgents forced their lengthy closure, and laid the groundwork for what is today’s West End. In the 17th century, Charles I, a patron of painters including Rubens and Van Dyck, built one of Europe’s most important art collections. If Queen Elizabeth II, who died last year, was more interested in horse racing than the thousands of performances she sat through during her reign, Charles’s fascination with the arts and entertainment echoes the concerns of several much earlier holders of the throne. With these varied interests, Charles is the most culturally attuned monarch for well over a century.
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