Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, the former Prince of Wales took the throne on Thursday. At age 73, Charles Philip Arthur George has already earned his own royal superlative: He’s the oldest person to accede to the crown in British history. He assumes the mantle with no small degree of scrutiny over his investiture. One subset of subjects may be following King Charles III particularly closely: residents of the village of Poundbury, an experimental planned community of 3,500 in Dorset, along England’s southern coast, whose fate Charles has been shaping for decades. Among his many distinctions, the ex-prince is a devoted enthusiast — and critic — of the built environment. He has outlined his principles on design and planning in sometimes inflammatory speeches and essays; he wrote a book, “A Vision of Britain,” in 1989, to make his case that traditional methods and aesthetics that guided Britain’s past should also inform its future. For admirers of classical architecture — known as “trads” in design-speak — Charles has long been their king. Charles’s position on classical architecture fits hand in glove with his dismal view of modernist design. As king, Charles is now obliged to hold his tongue about London’s skyline, along with most other topics about which he holds strong opinions. And the final phase of development at Poundbury will fall to the next Duke of Cornwall: Prince William, whose architectural appetites appear to be more eclectic. Read more at the link in our bio or visit: bloomberg.com/citylab 📷: Tim Graham/Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images