Foxy Prince Charles to Present Awards

By Stephen M. Silverman

Thursday December 27, 2001 07:55 AM EST

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Oh, that Prince Charles. Earlier this month he caused tongues to wag when he called skyscrapers "overblown phallic structures that say more about an architectural ego than any kind of craftsmanship." Well, putting his money where his mouth is, His Majesty announced that he will be dispensing "anti-awards," which he intends to present to what he considers the five worst new buildings. "They won't give it to some terrible Travelodge: They'll give it to the Greater London Authority building to annoy people," architect Piers Gough told London's Observer newspaper. Meanwhile, in other news related to the Prince, a sport that he fancies has come under fire, from none other than Sir Paul McCartney. On Wednesday, more than 150 riders and 2,000 followers on foot showed up at Charles's favorite hunt, the Beaufort Hunt in Badminton, western England, for the traditional post-Christmas fox hunt. Speaking up on the issue, McCartney was among a group of celebrities who wrote to the government asking for a free vote in the House of Commons on the issue of continuing the allowance of fox hunting in Britain, say news reports. "We want to live in a country where it is illegal to inflict pain and suffering by hunting wild animals with dogs -- an activity that we along with most British people believe is cruel, unnecessary, unacceptable and outdated," said the letter, which also was signed by McCartney's daughters, Stella and Mary. Tally ho.