Britain's King Charles III and Queen Camilla look at the first Shakespeare Folio during a reception hosted by the King and Queen at Windsor Castle in Berkshire, England, July 18, 2023, to celebrate the work of William Shakespeare, on the 400th anniversary of the publication of the first Shakespeare Folio. (PHOTO / AP)
LONDON - King Charles will mark 400 years since William Shakespeare's plays were published in collective form on Tuesday, bringing actors and directors together to celebrate his love for the bard and a book hailed as one of the most important in English literature.
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It was to Shakespeare who Charles turned in his first speech as king, the day after his mother Queen Elizabeth died, quoting from Hamlet to round off his tribute to her devotion and duty: "May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest".
Simon Russell Beale and Harriet Walter perform during a reception hosted by Britain's King Charles III and Britain's Queen Camilla at Windsor Castle in Windsor on July 18, 2023, on the 400th anniversary of the publication of the first Shakespeare Folio. (PHOTO / AFP)
At a gathering hosted by Charles and his wife Queen Camilla at Windsor Castle, to celebrate the first Folio, actors will perform extracts from Julius Caesar and The Tempest, as the King, now 10 months into his reign, promotes some of the causes close to his heart.
Charles, 74, wants to shape a monarchy fit for the future. Championing the melodious, poetic words of Shakespeare is one way to unite people from the tapestry of different cultures which make up modern-day Britain
While his mother's passion was horse racing, Charles's interests are more cultural and environmental, and Britain's theatres will hope to benefit from his long-standing support for the arts.
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Charles's interest in Shakespeare dates back to boarding school when he played the title role in Macbeth in 1965.
His enthusiasm was best captured in 2016, when he took part in a Hamlet skit alongside heavyweight actors such as Ian McKellen, Judi Dench, Benedict Cumberbatch and David Tennant, in an event to mark 400 years since the playwright's death.
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Without the Folio, the name given to the collection of the playwright's Comedies, Histories & Tragedies printed in 1623, Macbeth and 17 other plays would have been lost.
In this March 16, 2016 file photo, a Christie's member of staff displays an unrecorded copy of the First Folio, the first collected edition of Shakespeare's plays, widely considered the most important literary publication in the English language, in London. (PHOTO / AP)
Compiled by Shakespeare's friends seven years after his death, the Folio contained plays which had never before been published. A copy of it will be on display at the event.
Royal struggles
The bard's plays, with their musings on royal struggles including "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown" from Henry IV, Part II - struck a chord with Charles and a Shakespearian reference is never far away.
Britain's King Charles III speaks to Judi Dench (second right) during a reception hosted by Britain's King Charles III and Britain's Queen Camilla at Windsor Castle in Windsor on July 18, 2023, on the 400th anniversary of the publication of the first Shakespeare Folio. (PHOTO / AFP)
Now he is sovereign, Charles, 74, wants to shape a monarchy fit for the future. Championing the melodious, poetic words of Shakespeare is one way to unite people from the tapestry of different cultures which make up modern-day Britain.
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He has been president of the Royal Shakespeare Company since 1991. A theatre and learning charity, it aims to broaden access to the bard by bringing his plays into schools.
At the Windsor Castle reception on Tuesday, actors will perform including Simon Russell Beale and Harriet Walter, two of Britain's greatest stage actors.
