Prince Charles has called for funds to prevent the closure of libraries in Britain.
The 67-year-old royal is a patron of the Friends of the National Libraries and during an appeal for much-needed money he said the institutions help to keep "our heritage alive."
Writing in the Mail on Sunday’s Event magazine, he said: "Our libraries play a crucial role in preserving the letters of writers… They keep our heritage alive by offering insight into the thinking of great writers whose work our libraries make available to everyone, now and in the future.
"We absorb so much when we read good writing, not least how to use grammar properly. Used correctly, good grammar enables us to be sure of what the writer means.
If we stop using commas, or even full stops, I do wonder how we can hope to make sense of the world. Grammar matters!"
To drive the point home, the heir apparent described how his love for literature sprung from the "electrifying moment" he heard a poem about a Native American Indian chief by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, entitled The Song Of Hiawatha.
Prince Charle’s favourite lines go "Ye who love the haunts of Nature… Love the wind among the branches… and the rushing of great rivers Through their palisades of pine-trees" and he recalled: "I can remember the electrifying moment the first time I heard Longfellow’s words, which he uses like music in a mesmerising rhythm that runs throughout the epic poem.
"He takes you there immediately. You hear the breeze and feel the spray of the foaming rapids. I fell in love with words and writing from that moment. To read great writers is to open a window on a world of experience and wisdom."
Prince Charles appeals for library funds
