King Charles III was crowned weeks ago, yet much of the news emerging from Buckingham Palace — other than his outward disdain for the workers serving him — pertains to his past influence over British architecture. His longstanding push for a return to neoclassical design, reflected in his own plans for “sustainable townscapes,” echoes that of former US President Donald Trump. Beyond a common reputation for erratic behavior and lifelong privilege, these two men embody a startling trend among conservative leaders today: The revival of anti-modernism.1

Over the years, Charles has written his own principles of architecture and incited “style wars” against modernist architects, ironically promoting ideological diversity in his poorly run industry publication. In a famous 1984 speech he gave at a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the Royal Institute of British Architects, which later became known as the “Carbuncle Speech,” the then-prince expressed his opinion about a proposed extension to London’s National Gallery:

What, then, are we doing to our capital city now? What have we done to it since the bombing during the war? What are we shortly to do to one of its most famous areas – Trafalgar Square? Instead of designing an extension to the elegant facade of the National Gallery which complements it and continues the concept of columns and domes, it looks as if we may be presented with a kind of municipal fire station, complete with the sort of tower that contains the siren. I would understand better this type of high-tech approach if you demolished the whole of Trafalgar Square and started again with a single architect responsible for the entire layout, but what is proposed is like a monstrous carbuncle on the face of a much-loved and elegant friend.

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• 1. Guardian writer Phineas Harper recently claimed that Charles’s campaigns against modernist architects have “accomplished nothing,” and his designs are no match to the United Kingdom’s “profit-driven” system. “Charles is someone who wants to improve a society that he is not part of and will never truly experience or understand,” Harper writes. The Royal Family has indeed failed to compete with corporate landlords, but the former Prince of Wales has still accomplished a great deal in shutting down developments by renowned modernist architects — all while forcing drab, lifeless architecture across Britain and, oddly, in Transylvania (Google “King Charles Dracula” to die instantly).