Investiture of the prince of Wales

The Prince of Wales is sometimes presented and invested with the insignia of his rank and dignity in the manner of a coronation. The title is usually given to the heir apparent of the English or British throne. An investiture is ceremonial, as the title is formally conferred via letters patent issued by the monarch.

Caernarfon Castle set up for the investiture of Charles III, 1 July 1969

The ceremony was last held in 1969 for Queen Elizabeth II's eldest son and heir apparent, who became king on 8 September 2022 as Charles III. His son William, Prince of Wales since 2022, has no plans for an investiture following controversy in Wales regarding the title.[1][2][3]

Native princes of Wales
See also: List of rulers of Wales
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. The coronet was seized and presented to King Edward I of England as a token of the complete annihilation of the independent Welsh state.[4]

English, later British heirs apparent

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, gave the title to his heir apparent, Edward of Caernarfon.[5]

Edward I and Edward II

Regalia
Main articles: Honours of the Principality of Wales and Coronet of Charles, Prince of Wales

Frederick, Prince of Wales, later had a coronet 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.[6]

Due to its age Frederick's coronet was replaced by the Coronet of George, Prince of Wales, later King George V. At George's own coronation on 22 July 1911, the coronet was worn by his son Edward, the next Prince of Wales.[7] The crown was also worn at the public ceremony of investiture of Edward as Prince of Wales, held at Caernarfon Castle on 13 July 1911.

Edward, later Edward VIII
Main article: Investiture of Edward, Prince of Wales

Edward was made Prince of Wales on his 16th birthday, shortly after his father King George V had succeeded to the throne.

George V was persuaded, by the then (Welsh) Chancellor of the Exchequer, David Lloyd George, to revive the investiture ceremony for Edward.[8] The ceremony was reinvented in a grand medieval style and took place at Caernarfon Castle in north Wales.[8] The royal event was designed to celebrate and reintegrate a country that was divided by labour unrest and rebellion at the time.[8]

Edward reigned briefly as King Edward VIII in 1936. When he went into exile following his abdication, he took with him the Coronet of George, Prince of Wales, a highly controversial – and illegal – act. The future King George V, then Prince of Wales, had worn 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 as 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.[9]

Charles
Main article: Investiture of Charles, Prince of Wales

Charles, son of Queen Elizabeth II, and later King Charles III, was made Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester by letters patent on 26 July 1958,[10][11] but the official investiture was not held until 1 July 1969. The ceremony was at Caernarfon Castle.[12] Taught at University College of Wales, Aberystwyth by the lecturer and Welsh-nationalist politician Edward Millward,[13] 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. He gave his address in Welsh.[14]

I, Charles, Prince of Wales, do become your liege man of life and limb and of earthly worship, and faith and truth I will bear unto thee, to live and die against all manner of folks.[15]

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.[16]

William

William, son of King Charles III, was made Prince of Wales on 9 September 2022.[17] There are no plans for a formal investiture,[18][1] with an emphasis instead on "deepening the trust and respect of the people of Wales."[19]

Opposition to investitures
Main article: Controversy of the Prince of Wales title
A protest against the holding of the investiture in Caernarfon took place in March 1969

The protests leading up to the investiture of Charles as Prince of Wales were described as the "anti-investiture movement".[20] Multiple organisations and individuals in Wales were against the investiture including Dafydd Iwan,[21] Edward Millward,[22] Cofia 1282 ("remember 1282")[23] and the Welsh Language Society.[24] The investiture itself was controversial and led to widespread protests.[25] On the day of the investiture, a few nonviolent protesters were arrested. [26]

Since the investiture of Charles, further notable organisations and figures in Wales have called for an end to the title including Plaid Cymru (which has since changed its stance),[27][28] Republic,[29] Michael Sheen,[30] Dafydd Elis-Thomas,[31] Leanne Wood,[32] and Bethan Sayed.[33]

On 9 September 2022 Prince William was announced as Prince of Wales by King Charles III.[34] By 12 September, a petition calling to end the use of the title had received nearly 20,000 signatures.[35]

Opinion polls

A BBC Wales poll in 1999 found that 73 per cent of Welsh speakers wanted the position of Prince of Wales to continue.[36]

A BBC poll in 2009, marking the 40th anniversary of the investiture, showed that 58 per cent of the Welsh population was in favour of a similar public ceremony for Prince William after the accession of Charles to the throne.[37]

A poll in July 2018 again found 57% of Welsh people in support of the title passing on after the accession of Charles to the throne, with 27% opposed. Support for a similar investiture was less, with 31% supporting, 27% opposed and 18% wanting a different kind of investiture.[38]

Type of investiture
Date(s) conducted Polling organisation & client Similar investiture to 1969 Different investiture to 1969 Oppose Undecided
20–22 September 2022[39] YouGov / Barn Cymru 19% 30% 34% 17%
2019[40][41] ICM / BBC Wales 41% 20% 30% 9%
2018[42] YouGov / ITV Wales 31% 18% 27% 24%

Investiture support
Date(s) conducted Polling organisation & client Support Oppose Undecided Lead[lower-alpha 1] Note
2021[43][44] Beaufort Research / Western Mail 61% 26% 13% 35% “When Prince Charles becomes King, would you like to see Prince William made the Prince of Wales at a public ceremony known as an investiture?”
12–24 June 2009[45][46] BBC 58% 30% – 28% Non-standard oppose option: "not in favour of there being another public investiture ceremony similar to the type Prince Charles received at Caernarfon in 1969"
1999[47] Beaufort Research / BBC Wales 72% – – – Non-standard: Welsh speakers only asked

Notes
  1. Lead for some polls is calculated by the sum of both support for a similar and support for a different-style investiture in the absence of a total support figure.

References
  1. Deans, David (16 November 2022). "Prince of Wales has no plans for formal investiture, he tells Senedd". BBC News.
  2. WalesOnline (30 October 2022). "'Westminster could learn something from the Royals about how to treat Wales'". WalesOnline. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  3. McAllister, Laura (1 October 2022). "The future of the monarchy merits proper debate | Laura McAllister". WalesOnline. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  4. "History of Wales". Archived from the original on 24 February 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2008.
  5. "Titles and Heraldry | Prince of Wales". www.princeofwales.gov.uk. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
  6. Mears, et al., p. 31.
  7. "The Prince of Wales's Coronet (1902)". Royal Collection Trust. Inventory no. 31710.
  8. Kumar, Krishnan (13 March 2003), The Making of English National Identity, Cambridge University Press, p. 182, ISBN 0-521-77188-9
  9. Mears, et al., p. 24.
  10. "No. 41460". The London Gazette. 29 July 1958. p. 4733.
  11. "Previous Princes of Wales". Charles, Prince of Wales. Archived from the original on 27 August 2007. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  12. Evans, Neil (25 June 2009). "The investiture of the Prince of Wales". BBC Wales History. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
  13. "Charles termed serious, hard-working student". Leader-Post. 24 May 1969. p. 1.
  14. "Investiture as Prince of Wales". Charles, Prince of Wales.
  15. "The Investiture of Prince Charles". British Movietone. 3 July 1969. Retrieved 22 June 2022 – via YouTube.
  16. "Charles: Prince for Wales?". BBC One. 1 July 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2022.
  17. "William and Kate named Prince and Princess of Wales by the King". BBC. 9 September 2022. Retrieved 12 September 2022. Prince William and his wife Catherine have been named the new Prince and Princess of Wales by King Charles III.
  18. Max Foster, Rob Picheta (30 September 2022). "William, the new Prince of Wales, is taking on a crucial role". CNN. Retrieved 30 September 2022. CNN understands that, despite the then-Prince Charles having been given a grand investiture ceremony by the Queen when he became Prince of Wales in 1969, there are no plans for an investiture for William.
  19. "No plans for William to have formal investiture ceremony as Prince of Wales". Sky News. 27 September 2022. Retrieved 30 September 2022. Instead, it is understood that the Prince and Princess of Wales will focus on deepening the trust and respect of the people of Wales.
  20. Ellis, John Stephen (2008). Investiture: Royal Ceremony and National Identity in Wales, 1911-1969. University of Wales Press. p. 207. ISBN 978-0-7083-2000-6.
  21. Jones, Craig Owen (Summer 2013). ""Songs of Malice and Spite"?: Wales, Prince Charles, and an Anti-Investiture Ballad of Dafydd Iwan". Music and Politics. 7 (2). doi:10.3998/mp.9460447.0007.203. hdl:2027/spo.9460447.0007.203. ISSN 1938-7687.
  22. "Prince Charles' Wales Investiture Was As Controversial As 'The Crown' Shows". Bustle. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  23. "50 years since the Investiture". National Library of Wales Blog. 1 July 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  24. Ellis, John Stephen (2008). Investiture: Royal Ceremony and National Identity in Wales, 1911-1969. University of Wales Press. p. 206. ISBN 978-0-7083-2000-6.
  25. "50 years since the Investiture". National Library of Wales Blog. 1 July 2019. Retrieved 5 September 2022.
  26. Stephen), Ellis, John S. (John (2008). Investiture : royal ceremony and national identity in Wales, 1911-1969. University of Wales Press. p. 235. OCLC 647632453.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  27. "Plaid Cymru objections to Prince of Wales". Western Mail. 8 August 2006. Retrieved 20 August 2008.
  28. "Declaring a new Prince of Wales with no discussion with the people of Wales wasn't right". Nation.Cymru. 10 September 2022. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
  29. "'Wales doesn't need a prince': Anti-monarchy billboards spark backlash". Sky News. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  30. "Michael Sheen returned OBE to air views on royal family". the Guardian. 29 December 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  31. "'Devolved, democratic' Wales doesn't 'need' a Prince of Wales any more says Lord Elis-Thomas". Nation.Cymru. 8 September 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  32. "@leannewood". Twitter. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  33. "@bethanjenkins". Twitter. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
  34. "Prince and Princess of Wales: William and Catherine to 'carve their own future'". the Guardian. 10 September 2022. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
  35. Morris, Seren (12 September 2022). "Petition to end Prince of Wales title reaches 19k signatures". Evening Standard. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
  36. "Wales backs Charles for king". BBC News Online. 25 June 1999. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
  37. "Poll shows support for monarchy". BBC News Online. 30 June 2009. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
  38. ITV (6 July 2018). "ITV News Poll: Should Charles be the last Prince of Wales?". ITV News. ITV. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  39. "YouGov / Barn Cymru Survey Results" (PDF). YouGov. 22 September 2022.
  40. "Buckingham Palace event marks Prince of Wales' 50 years". BBC News. 7 March 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  41. Jackson, Gregor (7 March 2019). "BBC Wales - St. David's Day Poll 2019 (2)". icmunlimited. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  42. "ITV News Poll: Should Charles be the last Prince of Wales?". ITV News. ITV. 6 July 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  43. "Are we right to want another Prince of Wales?". The National Wales. 16 September 2021. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  44. https://www.pressreader.com/. Retrieved 29 December 2022 – via PressReader. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  45. "Poll shows support for monarchy". BBC News Online. 30 June 2009. Retrieved 18 September 2022.
  46. "Monarchy backed by 59% in Wales". 30 June 2009. Retrieved 19 September 2022.
  47. "Wales backs Charles for king". BBC News Online. 25 June 1999. Retrieved 18 September 2022.

Bibliography
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