Prince Charles to return to Czech Republic for four-day visit

Britain’s Prince Charles will be arriving in the Czech Republic at the weekend, as he and his wife Camilla continue a trip through Central Europe. In addition to visiting sights of his choosing around the country, Charles will likely be checking in on the legacy he has left in the country from several previous trips.

Prince Charles with his wife Camilla in Poland, photo: CTK

Prince Charles has had a close association with the Czech Republic over the last 20 years, and his upcoming visit to the country will be his fifth. After being received by President Klaus on Saturday morning, Prague Castle will welcome His Royal Highness with a celebratory feast of Czech cuisine and beer. The rest of his weekend will be spent with veterans of the Second World War at Prague’s Church of Cyril and Methodius – where the Germans laid siege to the assassins of the Nazi Governor Reinhard Heydrich – and with Mozart, at a performance of Don Giovanni in the Estates Theatre, where it first premiered.

The heir to the British throne has taken an active interest in the architecture and ecology of the Czech Republic over the years, and this trip is no exception. Prince Charles will be taking time from his four-day stay to visit the Moravian village of Hostětín which has earned a reputation for environmental friendliness through numerous sustainability projects and use of eco-technologies. The same day he is to hold a discussion on climate change with students of Brno’s Masaryk University, and will receive the institution’s highest award for his devotion to issues of environmentalism and culture.

Prince Charles, photo: CTK

Indeed, where culture is concerned, the prince has shown this country a good deal of generosity. In 1992 Charles and the then-President Havel established the Prague Heritage Fund, as the story goes after a meeting of minds on matters cultural and ecological.

The royal finances are now to thank for the restoration of Prague Castle’s Church of St. Bartholomew, the renewal of several gardens beneath the castle walls. Prince Charles will likely be checking in on some of these works, an easy walk from his accommodation in Prague’s Lichtenstein Palace, as he meets with President Havel before leaving the Czech Republic on Tuesday.