Investiture of the Prince of Wales

Edward I and Edward II

The tradition of investing the heir apparent of the English, and subsequently the British, monarch with the title of "Prince of Wales" began in 1301, when King Edward I of England, having completed the conquest of Wales, gave the title to his heir apparent, Prince Edward (later King Edward II of England).

Investiture is not necessary for the official appointment Prince of Wales. Earlier, peers were also invested; however, the investitures for peers ceased in 1621, at a time when peerages were being created so frequently that the investiture ceremonies became cumbersome. Most investitures for Princes of Wales were held in parliament.

During the reading of the letters patent creating the Prince, the Honours of the Principality of Wales are delivered to the Prince. The coronet of the heir apparent bears four crosses pattées alternating with four fleurs-de-lis, surmounted by a single arch (the Sovereign's crowns are of the same design, but use two arches). A gold rod is also used in the insignia; gold rods were formerly used in the investitures of dukes, but survive now in the investitures of Princes of Wales only. Also part of the insignia are a ring, a girdle, a sword and a robe.

Coronets

Llywelyn the Last wearing his coronet

It is recorded that Llywelyn ap Gruffudd had deposited his coronet along with his other regalia with the monks at Cymer Abbey for safekeeping at the start of his final campaign in 1282. He was killed later that year. It was seized and presented to King Edward I of England as a token of the complete annihilation of the independent Welsh state.[1]

Frederick, Prince of Wales, later had the Coronet of Frederick, Prince of Wales, made at a cost of £140 5s. in 1728. It is unknown whether Frederick ever wore the coronet himself, but it was used by both his son, George III, and his grandson, George IV, when each was Prince of Wales.

Due to its age Frederick's coronet was replaced by the Coronet of George, Prince of Wales, made for the future King George V. At George's own coronation in 1911, the coronet was worn by his son, Edward, the next Prince of Wales.

When the former King Edward VIII went into exile as the Duke of Windsor in 1936 (following his abdication), he took with him the Coronet of George, Prince of Wales, a highly controversial – and illegal – act. This coronet had been specially created for King George V, then Prince of Wales, and he wore it at his father's coronation in 1902. The traditional coronet being unavailable, and with the older Coronet of Frederick, Prince of Wales being viewed unusable due to age, a new Prince of Wales coronet was made to be used for the investiture of Prince Charles as Prince of Wales. The Coronet of Charles, Prince of Wales, was produced by a committee under Antony Armstrong-Jones, 1st Earl of Snowdon, then husband of Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon.

A large protest against the holding of the investiture in Caernarfon took place in March 1969

Caernarfon Castle set up for the investiture of Prince Charles, 30 June 1969

Prince Charles was made the Prince of Wales, Earl of Chester by letters patent on 26 July 1958,[2][3] but the official investiture was not held until 1 July 1969. The ceremony, at Caernarfon Castle, was well received by many Welsh people. Some nationalists, though, viewed it as being associated with the subjugation of Welsh people since the 13th century, when king Edward I of England deposed the last native Prince of Wales, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd.

Previous investitures had taken place at various locations, including the Palace of Westminster, the seat of Parliament.[4] The Welsh borough of Swansea was granted city status to mark the occasion.[5][6] Taught by Welsh-nationalist politician Edward Millward,[7] Prince Charles spent ten weeks leading up to his investiture learning about Welsh culture, history and language, and during the ceremony he gave his replies in both English and Welsh.[8]

The investiture was watched by millions on television, and attracted large and excited crowds in Caernarfon, but it also aroused considerable hostility among a minority of nationalist and republican Welsh people. The nationalist campaign against the investiture culminated with an attempted bombing by two members of the Mudiad Amddiffyn Cymru ('Movement for the Defence of Wales'). On the eve of the investiture two bombers were killed whilst placing a bomb outside government offices in Abergele.[9] In recent years, it has been claimed that the KGB plotted to disrupt the proceedings by bombing a bridge in Porthmadog.[10]

In recent opinion polls, the majority of Welsh people (usually cited as over 60 per cent) have remained in favour of the monarchy, with a BBC Wales poll in 1999 finding that 73 per cent of Welsh speakers want the position of Prince of Wales to continue.[11] A BBC poll, to mark the 40th anniversary of the investiture, showed that 38 per cent of the Welsh population was in favour of a similar public ceremony for Prince William after Prince Charles becomes king.[12] A poll in July 2018 again found the majority of Welsh people in support of the title passing on when the current prince becomes king, but 47 percent objected to another investiture.

On the evening of 28 June 2009—to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the investiture—BBC Parliament broadcast a repeat of the original BBC TV colour outside broadcast from 1 July 1969, fronted by Cliff Michelmore and Richard Baker. This was preceded by an interview with Prince Charles recorded a few days before his investiture. The BBC repeated the broadcast on 1 July 2019, to mark the 50th anniversary.