Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the
heir apparent
An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...
to the English and later
British throne
The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional form of government by which a hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Baili ...
. Prior to the
conquest by
Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the
rulers of independent Wales
Prior to the Conquest of Wales, completed in 1282, Wales consisted of a number of independent kingdoms, the most important being Gwynedd, Powys, Deheubarth (originally Ceredigion, Seisyllwg and Dyfed) and Morgannwg ( Glywysing and Gwent). B ...
.
The first native
Welsh prince was
Gruffudd ap Cynan
Gruffudd ap Cynan ( 1137), sometimes written as Gruffydd ap Cynan, was King of Gwynedd from 1081 until his death in 1137. In the course of a long and eventful life, he became a key figure in Welsh resistance to Norman rule, and was rememb ...
of
Gwynedd, in 1137, although his son
Owain Gwynedd
Owain ap Gruffudd ( 23 or 28 November 1170) was King of Gwynedd, North Wales, from 1137 until his death in 1170, succeeding his father Gruffudd ap Cynan. He was called Owain the Great ( cy, Owain Fawr) and the first to be ...
(Owain ap Gruffudd) is often cited as having established the title.
Llywelyn the Great is typically regarded as the strongest leader, holding power over the vast majority of Wales for 45 years. One of the last independent princes was
Llywelyn ap Gruffydd (Llywelyn the Last), who was killed at the
Battle of Orewin Bridge
The Battle of Orewin Bridge (also known as the Battle of Irfon Bridge) was fought between English (led by the Marcher Lords) and Welsh armies on 11 December 1282 near Builth Wells in mid-Wales. It was a decisive defeat for the Welsh because ...
in 1282. His brother,
Dafydd ap Gruffydd, was executed the following year. After these two deaths,
Edward I of England
Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vas ...
invested his son
Edward of Caernarfon as the first English prince of Wales in 1301. The title was later claimed by the heir of
Gwynedd,
Owain Glyndŵr (Owain ap Gruffydd), from 1400 until 1415 (date of his assumed death) who led Welsh forces against the English. Since then, it has only been held by the heir apparent of the English and subsequently British monarch. The title is a
subject of controversy in Wales.
The incumbent,
William, received the title on 9 September 2022, the day after his father's accession to the throne as
Charles III
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person t ...
.
Native princes of Wales
Before prince of Wales
While many different Welsh rulers claimed the title of 'King of Wales' and some ruled a majority of the country, the modern-day territory was only fully united between 1055 and 1063, under the direct rule of
Gruffydd ap Llywelyn
Gruffydd ap Llywelyn ( 5 August 1063) was King of Wales from 1055 to 1063. He had previously been King of Gwynedd and Powys in 1039. He was the son of King Llywelyn ap Seisyll and Angharad daughter of Maredudd ab Owain, and the great-gre ...
,
who was referred to as 'King of Wales' or ''Rex Walensium'' by
John of Worcester
John of Worcester (died c. 1140) was an English monk and chronicler who worked at Worcester Priory. He is usually held to be the author of the ''Chronicon ex chronicis''.
''Chronicon ex chronicis''
The ''Chronicon ex chronicis'' is a world wi ...
.
The native use of the title 'Prince of Wales' appeared more frequently by the eleventh century as a modernised form of the old '
King of the Britons', a title used to describe the leader of the
Celtic Britons, ancestors of the Welsh.
The princes of the medieval period hailed largely from west Wales, mainly
Gwynedd. They had significant power which allowed them to claim authority beyond the borders of their kingdoms.
End of native princes of Wales
Following the uniting of Wales under the rule of the Llywelyn princes,
Edward I of England
Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vas ...
led 15,000 men to capture Wales. Resistance was led by
Llywelyn ap Gruffydd who was killed by English soldiers in an ambush trick at the
Battle of Orewin Bridge
The Battle of Orewin Bridge (also known as the Battle of Irfon Bridge) was fought between English (led by the Marcher Lords) and Welsh armies on 11 December 1282 near Builth Wells in mid-Wales. It was a decisive defeat for the Welsh because ...
. Llywelyn's brother,
Dafydd ap Gruffydd, took over leadership of Welsh fighters, but was captured and executed in 1283.
After the deaths of Llywelyn and Dafydd, King Edward introduced the royal ordinance of the
Statute of Rhuddlan
The Statute of Rhuddlan (12 Edw 1 cc.1–14; cy, Statud Rhuddlan ), also known as the Statutes of Wales ( la, Statuta Valliae) or as the Statute of Wales ( la, Statutum Valliae, links=no), provided the constitutional basis for the government of ...
in 1284. The statute was a constitutional change causing Wales to lose its de facto independence and formed the
Principality of Wales
The Principality of Wales ( cy, Tywysogaeth Cymru) was originally the territory of the native Welsh princes of the House of Aberffraw from 1216 to 1283, encompassing two-thirds of modern Wales during its height of 1267–1277. Following the co ...
within the Realm of England.
Almost two decades later, Edward appointed his son and heir,
Edward of Caernarfon, as prince of Wales.
Owain Glyndŵr
With the assassination of
Owain Lawgoch
Owain Lawgoch ( en, Owain of the Red Hand, french: Yvain de Galles), full name Owain ap Thomas ap Rhodri (July 1378), was a Welsh soldier who served in Lombardy, France, Alsace, and Switzerland. He led a Free Company fighting for the French agai ...
in 1378, the senior line of the
House of Aberffraw (descended from Llywelyn the Great in
patrilineal succession) became extinct. As a result, the claim of the title 'Prince of Wales' fell to the other royal dynasties of Wales, namely
Deheubarth
Deheubarth (; lit. "Right-hand Part", thus "the South") was a regional name for the realms of south Wales, particularly as opposed to Gwynedd (Latin: ''Venedotia''). It is now used as a shorthand for the various realms united under the House o ...
and
Powys
Powys (; ) is a county and preserved county in Wales. It is named after the Kingdom of Powys which was a Welsh successor state, petty kingdom and principality that emerged during the Middle Ages following the end of Roman rule in Britain.
Geog ...
. The leading heir in this respect was
Owain Glyndŵr who was descended from both dynasties.
Glyndŵr was announced as prince of Wales in
Glyndyfrdwy
Glyndyfrdwy (), or sometimes Glyn Dyfrdwy, is a village in the modern county of Denbighshire, Wales. It is situated on the A5 road halfway between Corwen and Llangollen in the Dee Valley (the river Dee is ''Afon Dyfrdwy'' in Welsh).
History
A ...
on 16 September 1400, and with his armies, he proceeded to attack English towns in
north-east Wales.
Henry IV led several attempted invasions but with limited success, while Owain solidified his control of the nation.
However, in 1407, the much larger and better equipped English forces began to overwhelm the Welsh and by 1409 they had reconquered most of the region. Glyndŵr fought on until he was cornered and under siege at
Harlech Castle
Harlech Castle ( cy, Castell Harlech; ) in Harlech, Gwynedd, Wales, is a Grade I listed medieval fortification built onto a rocky knoll close to the Irish Sea. It was built by Edward I during his invasion of Wales between 1282 and 1289 at t ...
. He managed to escape and retreated to the Welsh wilderness with a band of loyal supporters, where he refused to surrender and continued the war with guerilla tactics. The last documented sighting of Owain Glyndŵr was in 1412 and his death was recorded by a former follower in the year 1415.
Arms
Llywelyn ap Gruffydd
Three native princes of Wales used the
House of Gwynedd arms. The House of Gwynedd is divided between the earlier
House of Cunedda, which lasted from c. 420–825, and the later
House of Aberffraw, beginning in 844.
Owain Glyndŵr
Owain Glyndŵr adapted the
House of Gwynedd arms by making the lions rampant, making clear his descent from the princes of Gwynedd and
Llywelyn the Last, and his defence of Wales. It is also suggested that this design was influenced by the arms of
Powys Fadog
Powys Fadog (English: ''Lower Powys'' or ''Madog's Powys'') was the northern portion of the former princely realm of Powys, which split in two following the death of Madog ap Maredudd in 1160. The realm was divided under Welsh law, with Madog's ...
and the coat of
Deheubarth
Deheubarth (; lit. "Right-hand Part", thus "the South") was a regional name for the realms of south Wales, particularly as opposed to Gwynedd (Latin: ''Venedotia''). It is now used as a shorthand for the various realms united under the House o ...
. Glyndŵr's father was a hereditary prince of Powys Fadog and his mother was noblewoman of Deheubarth.
The Glyndŵr arms were also used as a banner, carried into battle against the English. This banner is a symbol of Welsh defiance, resilience and protest,
and is associated with Welsh nationhood.
As title of the English and British heir apparent
According to conventional wisdom, since 1301 the prince of Wales has usually been the eldest living son (only if he is also the heir apparent) of the King or Queen Regnant of England (subsequently of Great Britain, 1707, and of the United Kingdom, 1801).
The title is neither automatic or heritable; it
merges with the Crown when its holder eventually accedes to the throne, or reverts to the Crown if its holder predeceases the current monarch, leaving the sovereign free to grant it to the new heir apparent (such as the late prince's son or brother).
William Camden's
''Britannia'' describes the beginning of the English prince of Wales as heir apparent after Llywelyn ap Gruffydd was "slain":
In 2011, along with the other
Commonwealth realms, the United Kingdom committed to the
Perth Agreement, which proposed changes to the laws governing succession, including altering the male-preference primogeniture to
absolute primogeniture. The
Succession to the Crown Act 2013 was introduced to the British parliament on 12 December 2012, published the next day, and received royal assent on 25 April 2013. It was brought into force on 26 March 2015,
[Succession to the Crown Act 2013 (Commencement) Order 2015](_blank)
at legislation.org.uk (retrieved 30 March 2015) at the same time as the other realms implemented the Perth Agreement in their own laws.
[Statement by Nick Clegg MP, UK parliament website](_blank)
26 March 2015 (retrieved on same date).
Titles and roles
After the
conquest, 'Prince of Wales' has been a
substantive title traditionally (but not necessarily) granted by the English or
British monarch to the son or grandson who is the heir apparent to the throne.
Since 1301, the title '
Earl of Chester
The Earldom of Chester was one of the most powerful earldoms in medieval England, extending principally over the counties of Cheshire and Flintshire. Since 1301 the title has generally been granted to heirs apparent to the English throne, and a ...
' has generally been granted to each heir apparent to the English throne, and from the late 14th century it has been given only in conjunction with that of 'Prince of Wales'. Both titles are bestowed to each individual by the sovereign and are not automatically acquired.
The prince of Wales usually has other titles and honours, if the eldest son of the monarch; typically this means being
duke of Cornwall, which, unlike being prince of Wales, inherently includes lands and constitutional and operational responsibilities. The
duchy of Cornwall was created in 1337 by
Edward III for his son and heir,
Edward of Woodstock (also known as 'The Black Prince'). A charter was also created which ruled that the eldest son of the king would be the duke of Cornwall.
No formal public role or responsibility has been legislated by
Parliament or otherwise delegated to the prince of Wales by law or custom. In that role,
Charles often assisted
Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
in the performance of her duties. He represented her when welcoming dignitaries to London and during
state visits
A state visit is a formal visit by a head of state to a foreign country, at the invitation of the head of state of that foreign country, with the latter also acting as the official host for the duration of the state visit. Speaking for the host ...
. He also represented the Queen and the United Kingdom overseas at state and ceremonial occasions such as funerals. The prince of Wales has also been granted the authority to issue
royal warrants.
British (formerly English) insignia
As
heir apparent
An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...
to the sovereign, the prince of Wales bears the
royal arms differenced by a white label of three points. To represent Wales he bears the
coat of arms of the Principality of Wales, crowned with the heir apparent's crown, on an
inescutcheon-en-surtout. This was first used by the future
Edward VIII in 1910, and followed by the most recent prince of Wales, now King Charles III.
The heraldic badge of the three feathers is the badge of the duke of Cornwall, or heir apparent to the British throne. The ostrich feathers heraldic motif is generally traced back to
Edward of Woodstock ('The Black Prince'). He bore (as an alternative to his
differenced royal arms) a shield of ''Sable, three ostrich feathers argent'', described as his "shield for peace", probably meaning the shield he used for
jousting
Jousting is a martial game or hastilude between two horse riders wielding lances with blunted tips, often as part of a tournament. The primary aim was to replicate a clash of heavy cavalry, with each participant trying to strike the opponen ...
. These arms appear several times on his
chest tomb in
Canterbury Cathedral, alternating with his paternal royal arms (the royal arms of King Edward III differenced by ''a label of three points argent''). The Black Prince also used heraldic badges of one or more ostrich feathers in various other contexts.
Opposition to the title
While
Prince Charles's 1969 investiture was "largely welcomed" in Wales,
and it was watched by 19 million in the UK and another 500 million around the world, protests described as an
anti-investiture movement, also took place in the days leading up to the ceremony.
Multiple Welsh organisations and individuals were against the event, including
Dafydd Iwan,
Edward Millward
Edward Glynne Millward, (28 June 1930 – 18 April 2020), also known as Tedi Millward, was a Welsh scholar and nationalist politician.
Education and marriage
Millward studied at Cathays High School in Cardiff and then the University College of ...
, Cofia 1282 ('Remember 1282'), and the
Welsh Language Society
The Welsh Language Society ( cy, Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg, often abbreviated to Cymdeithas yr Iaith or just Cymdeithas) is a direct action pressure group in Wales campaigning for the right of Welsh people to use the Welsh language in every as ...
. On the day of the investiture, a few protesters were arrested.
Since then, further prominent organisations and figures in Wales have called for an end to the title including
Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru ( ; ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left to left-wing, Welsh nationalist political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from the United Kingdom.
Plaid wa ...
(which has since changed its stance),
Republic,
Michael Sheen
Michael Christopher Sheen OBE (born 5 February 1969) is a Welsh actor, television producer and political activist. After training at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), he worked mainly in theatre throughout the 1990s with stage rol ...
, and
Dafydd Elis-Thomas
Dafydd Elis-Thomas, Baron Elis-Thomas (born 18 October 1946) is a Welsh politician who served as the Leader of Plaid Cymru from 1984 to 1991 and represented the Dwyfor Meirionnydd constituency in the Senedd from 1999 to 2021.
Born in Carmar ...
. Following
Charles III
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person t ...
's accession to the throne in September 2022, a petition was launched calling for the abolition of the title "Prince of Wales", which had received over 35,000 signatures.
Mark Drakeford,
Adam Price,
Jane Dodds
Jane Dodds MS (born 13 September 1963) is a Welsh politician who has served as Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats since 2017. She was elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brecon and Radnorshire at the seat's 2019 by-election, but ...
,
and
YesCymru have all acknowledged a potential for a debate or have suggested potential for Welsh decision. On the 6th October,
Gwynedd Council
Cyngor Gwynedd ( en, Gwynedd Council) is the governing body for the county of Gwynedd, one of the principal areas of Wales. The council administrates internally using the Welsh language.
History
The county of Gwynedd was created in 1974 under ...
, the local authority where Charles was invested, voted to declare opposition to the title of 'Prince of Wales' and against holding another investiture in Wales.
Opinion polls
A
BBC Wales poll in 1999 found that 73% of Welsh speakers wanted the position of Prince of Wales to continue.
A
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
poll in 2009, marking the 40th anniversary of the investiture, indicated that 38% of the Welsh population was in favour of a similar public ceremony for
poll in 2018 found 57% of Welsh people in support of the title passing on when the
became king, with 27% opposed. Support for a similar investiture was lower, with 31% supporting, 27% opposed and 18% wanting a different kind of investiture.
was the longest serving prince of Wales for 64 years and 44 days between 1958 and 2022. He was also heir apparent for longer than any other in British history. Upon
on 8 September 2022, Charles became king and the title merged with the Crown. The following day, King Charles III bestowed the title upon his elder son,
.