It is perhaps fitting to say that when I was first confronted with the idea of addressing His Royal Highness Charles, Prince of Wales’ recent essay in the Architectural Review I was met with a peculiar thought. How does one reference in endnotes an essay written by royalty? Does one simply write, “HRH Charles, Prince of Wales” or is it more academically correct to use his ‘full’ name, Charles Philip Arthur George Mountbatten-Windsor (I shan’t even attempt to include all his royal and noble titles)? Mundane as this thought may seem it raises a significant and important point: that as a result of his status within the British Monarchy, Prince Charles, unlike so many other academics, critics and indeed anyone interested in the built environment wields an authority and influence most architects can only dream of (Avoid Albert Speer reference here).
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