King Charles III of England celebrates on Tuesday the 400th anniversary of the first publication in a collection of plays by William Shakespeare, by bringing together actors and directors around their common passion for the playwright. As a sign of his attachment to the great author, Charles quoted Shakespeare in his first speech as king, the day after the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II, borrowing a passage from Hamlet to complete his homage: “Only flights of angels lead you singing to your rest. At the event hosted by Charles and his wife Camilla at Windsor Castle to celebrate the first folio of Shakespeare’s works, excerpts from Julius Caesar and The Tempest will be given. Among the actors, Simon Russell Beale and Harriet Walter, two British theater stars.
Ten months after the beginning of his reign, the sovereign printed touch after touch of his mark. If his mother’s true passion was horse racing, Charles does not hide his penchant for cultural and environmental issues. As they navigate a major crisis since Brexit and covid, UK theaters and performance venues are hoping to benefit from his long-standing support for the arts.
Charles’ interest in Shakespeare dates back to boarding school and has never waned. In 1965 he played the title role of Macbeth. In 2016, he joined comedians Ian McKellen, Judi Dench, Benedict Cumberbatch and David Tennant for a protest marking 400 years since the playwright’s death.
The Folio, a collection of “Comedies, Stories
The spirit of the plays of the “bard”, with their reflections on the royal struggles – whose “worry is the head that wears the crown” of Henry IV – resonates with Charles and the sovereign does not fail to do so. reference. At 74, he wants to shape an armed monarchy for the future. And he finds in the melodious and poetic words of Shakespeare is a way to weave the link between the different cultures that make up Britain today. Charles has also been chairman of the Royal Shakespeare Company since 1991. The theater and learning charity, it aims to widen access to the bard by bringing his plays into schools.
