Fit for a king: Prince Charles’ experimental city is proving critics wrong We’re sorry, this service is currently unavailable. Please try again later. Dismiss Credit:Alamy Normal text size Very large text size After a three-hour drive through the English countryside, I arrive in the town of Poundbury and climb out of the car to examine my strange new surroundings. To the right stands the imposing Duchess of Cornwall Inn, which borrows its rich architectural detail from Palladio’s Convento della Carità in Venice. Next door, the neoclassical-style Strathmore House is bright yellow like some sort of St Petersburg palace and boasts fourteen giant Corinthian pilasters topped by a pediment bearing the Queen Mother’s coat of arms. In front of me the sprawling Royal Pavilion combines Greek Revival details with Roman arcaded architecture.