Prince Charles was talking to the Royal Institute of British Architects at the occasion of their 150th anniversary about the proposed extension of the National Gallery.
And do we need to re-discover beauty around us?

When we see something beautiful its beauty is subjectively felt.

Yet, the concept of beauty and ugliness is elusive and difficult to put into words and define.

Perhaps this is because of individual differences in our appreciation of it.
What one person finds beautiful, another merely sentimental.

Beauty has been said to be something to do with appreciating harmony, balance, rhythm.

It captures our attention, satisfying and raising the mind.

It is not the objects depicted by art that defines whether something is beautiful or ugly.

Instead it is how the object is dealt with that makes it possibly inspirational.

Spiritual philosopher Emanuel Swedenborg suggests that what arouses our feeling that a human face is beautiful is not the face itself, but the affection shining from it.

It is the spiritual within the natural that stirs our affections, not the natural on its own.
want to be moved by it and do something about it, is profoundly heartening." (Physician-poet Rafael Campo)

Roger Scruton, philosopher, points out that between 1750 and 1930 the aim of art or music was beauty.
want to be moved by it and do something about it, is profoundly heartening." (Physician-poet Rafael Campo)

Then in the 20th century it stopped being important.
It was not beauty, but originality and irony and other intellectual ideas that they focused on.

This is what won the prizes no matter the moral cost.

The art world now believes that those who look for beauty in art, are just out of touch with modern realities.

Since the world is disturbing, art should be disturbing too.

Yet I would suggest that what is shocking first time round is uninspiring and hollow when repeated.
I have tried to make it sound as beautiful as I can.

Otherwise what's the point... So if you want to hear how ugly the modern world is,... you can just switch on the television and listen to the news.

But I think that most people go to concerts because they want to hear beautiful music.

Music full of melodies that you can hum or sing.

Music that wants to make you want to smile or cry or dance.

(Alma Deutscher, 12 year old concert violinist/pianist)
If there are still any artists creating beautiful objects of art, I suspect, like any good news in the newspapers, they are not getting the headlines.

In addition to much of our contemporary art and built environment, can we also detect grating unattractiveness - not to mention self-centeredness and offensiveness - now coming into the

As though beauty has no longer any real place in our lives.

So when we find ourselves in the soup of negativity, do we give ourselves time to be open to beauty?
I'm wondering if by losing beauty we are also losing something else.

Something I would describe as a deeper perception of what is good and innocent in life.

Scruton suggests that living without this deeper perception is like living in a spiritual desert.