Britain | Urban planning in Britain

Now it’s Prince William’s turn to shape British town planning

What the Duchy of Cornwall builds today, others will build tomorrow

A view of a row of traditional houses overlooking a green in Faversham, a market town in Kent, England.
Williamsburg, KentPhotograph: Duchy of Cornwall
|FAVERSHAM

Let a man linger close to the British throne and his mind will eventually turn to architecture. In between drinking and gambling sessions, the prince regent who became George IV commissioned the loopy Royal Pavilion in Brighton. Prince Albert had “a wonderful turn for architecture”, in the fond estimation of his wife, Queen Victoria. Charles III began to pronounce on the subject in the mid-1980s, to many actual architects’ chagrin.

Explore more

This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “William the Architect”

The new economic order

From the May 11th 2024 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Britain

Labour sweet-talks the public sector

The race to become leader of Britain’s Conservatives

An exhausted party seems to think that it doesn’t have to change


How deep is Britain’s fiscal “black hole”?

Rachel Reeves sets out her first big decisions as chancellor


Shabana Mahmood, Britain’s new Lord Chancellor

The new justice secretary is both progressive and religious

How King Charles III counts his swans

A ritual that pleases conservationists and annoys the birds

Britain’s army chief fears war may come sooner than anyone thinks

Could the army cope without more money and troops?