Prince Charles views Holyrood

Published on Wednesday 31 May 2006 00:50

THE PRINCE of Wales, one of the most vocal critics of contemporary architecture, toured one of the most talked-about modern buildings in Britain last night to see for himself what the controversy is all about.

Accompanied by his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, the prince was shown around the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood by George Reid, the Presiding Officer.

Both members of the royal party were said to have found the architecture "intriguing". The Duchess reportedly described the 435 million building as "very attractive". Her husband was interested in the inclusive nature of the parliament, which has had 740,000 visitors since opening, and described the building as "fascinating". However, he remained tight-lipped about his feelings on the unique modernist architecture.

Considering the prince has argued in the past for staunchly conservative buildings and has criticised some modernist architecture, there was some trepidation about what he might think of the building, designed by the late Catalan architect Enric Miralles.

However, initial opinion appeared to be positive.

Charles and Camilla arrived together via the Queensbury House entrance, one of the more traditional parts of the building, where they met the leaders of all the main parties at Holyrood.

The royal couple were then taken to the member's restaurantfor a reception celebrating 30 years of the Prince's Trust Scotland.

There the prince addressed a group of around 100 on the work of the Princes Trust.

He suggested the work of the trust could become a model for a national scheme for community service, in which the young would volunteer for work in the community or with police and the military, encouraged by incentives such as reduced university tuition fees

The Prince said: "I promise you that makes an incredible difference to young people."