Prince of Wales

Prince of Wales
The Badge of the Prince of Wales
Incumbent HRH The Prince of Wales since 26 July 1958
Style	His Royal Highness Sir
Residence	Clarence House
Appointer	Monarch of the United Kingdom
Term length	Life tenure or until accession as Sovereign
Inaugural holder	Dafydd ap Llywelyn
Website	www.princeofwales.gov.uk

Prince of Wales (Welsh: Tywysog Cymru) is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent of the British or English monarch. The current Prince of Wales is Prince Charles, the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II, who is Queen of the United Kingdom and 15 other independent Commonwealth realms as well as Head of the 53-member Commonwealth of Nations.

Roles and responsibilities

The Prince of Wales is the heir apparent of the monarch. He has no formal public role or responsibility that has been legislated by Parliament or otherwise delegated by law. He does, however, carry out ceremonial visits and tours, representing the Sovereign when he or she cannot be or is not present.

Charles, like most previous Princes of Wales, is also Duke of Cornwall and therefore responsible for the duchy of Cornwall, a private estate that funds the activities of the heir to the throne.

History

For most of the post-Roman period, the nation of Wales was divided into several smaller states. Before the Norman conquest of England, the most powerful Welsh ruler at any given time was generally known as King of the Britons. In the 12th century and the 13th century, this title evolved into Prince of Wales (see Brut y Tywysogion). In Latin, the new title was Princeps Walliae, and in Welsh it was Tywysog Cymru. The literal translation of Tywysog is "Leader". (The verb tywys means "to lead".)

Only a handful of native princes had their claim to the overlordship of Wales recognised by the English Crown. The first known to have used such a title was Owain Gwynedd, adopting the title Prince of the Welsh around 1165 after earlier using rex Waliae ("King of Wales"). His grandson Llywelyn the Great is not known to have used the title "Prince of Wales" as such, although his use, from around 1230, of the style "Prince of Aberffraw, Lord of Snowdon" was tantamount to a proclamation of authority over most of Wales, and he did use the title "Prince of North Wales" as did his predecessor Dafydd ab Owain Gwynedd.

In 1240, the title was theoretically inherited by his son Dafydd ap Llywelyn, though he is not known to have used it. Instead he styled himself as "Prince of Wales" around 1244, the first Welsh prince to do so. In 1246, his nephew Llywelyn ap Gruffudd succeeded to the throne of Gwynedd, and used the style as early as 1258. In 1267, with the signing of the Treaty of Montgomery, he was recognised by both King Henry III of England and the representative of the Papacy as Prince of Wales. In 1282, Llywelyn was killed during Edward I of England's invasion of Wales and although his brother Dafydd ap Gruffudd succeeded to the Welsh princeship, issuing documents as prince, his principate was not recognised by the English Crown.

Three Welshmen, however, claimed the title of Prince of Wales after 1283.

The first was Madog ap Llywelyn, a member of the house of Gwynedd, who led a nationwide revolt in 1294-5, defeating English forces in battle near Denbigh and seizing Caernarfon Castle. His revolt was suppressed, however, after the Battle of Maes Moydog in March 1295, and the prince was imprisoned in London.

In the 1370s, Owain Lawgoch, an English-born descendant of one of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd's brothers, claimed the title of Prince of Wales, but was assassinated in France in 1378 before he could return to Wales to claim his inheritance.

It is Owain Glyndŵr, however, whom many Welsh people regard as being the last native Prince. On 16 September 1400, he was proclaimed Prince of Wales by his supporters, and held parliaments at Harlech Castle and elsewhere during his revolt, which encompassed all of Wales. It was not until 1409 that his revolt in quest of Welsh independence was suppressed by Henry IV.

The tradition of investing the heir-apparent of the monarch with the title of "Prince of Wales" is usually considered to have begun in 1301, when King Edward I of England invested his son Edward Caernarfon with the title at a Parliament held in Lincoln. According to legend, the king had promised the Welsh that he would name "a prince born in Wales, who did not speak a word of English" and then produced his infant son, who had been born at Caernarfon, to their surprise. However, the story may well be apocryphal, as it can only be traced to the 16th century, and, in the time of Edward I, the English aristocracy spoke Norman French, not English (some versions of the legend include lack of knowledge in both languages as a requirement, and one reported version has the very specific phrase "born on Welsh soil and speaking no other language").

William Camden wrote in his 1607 work Britannia that originally the title "Prince of Wales" was not conferred automatically upon the eldest living son of the King of England because Edward II (who had been the first English Prince of Wales) neglected to invest his eldest son, the future Edward III, with that title. It was Edward III who revived the practice of naming the eldest son Prince of Wales which was then maintained by his successors:

But King Edward the Second conferred not upon his sonne Edward the title of Prince of Wales, but onely the name of Earle of Chester and of Flint, so farre as ever I could learne out of the Records, and by that title summoned him to Parliament, being then nine yeres old. King Edward the Third first created his eldest sonne Edward surnamed the Blacke Prince, the Mirour of Chivalrie (being then Duke of Cornwall and Earle of Chester), Prince of Wales by solemne investure, with a cap of estate and Coronet set on his head, a gold ring put upon his finger, and a silver vierge delivered into his hand, with the assent of Parliament.^[1]

Nevertheless, according to conventional wisdom since 1301 the Prince of Wales has usually been the eldest living son (if and 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). That he is also the heir-apparent is important. Following the death of Prince Arthur, the Prince of Wales, Henry VII invested his second son, the future Henry VIII, with the title—although only after it was clear that Arthur's wife, Catherine of Aragon, was not pregnant; when Frederick, Prince of Wales died while his father reigned, George II created Fredrick's son (the king's grandson and new heir-apparent) George Prince of Wales. The title is not automatic and is not heritable; it merges into the Crown when a prince accedes to the throne, or lapses on his death leaving the sovereign free to re-grant it to the new heir-apparent (such as the late prince's son or brother.) Prince Charles was created Prince of Wales on 26 July 1958,^[2] some six years after he became heir-apparent, and had to wait another eleven years for his investiture, on 1 July 1969.^[3]

The Principality of Wales, nowadays, is always conferred along with the Earldom of Chester. The convention began in 1399; all previous Princes of Wales also received the earldom, but separately from the Principality. Indeed, before 1272 a hereditary and not necessarily royal Earldom of Chester had already been created several times, eventually merging in the crown each time. The earldom was recreated, merging in the Crown in 1307 and again in 1327. Its creations since have been associated with the creations of the Principality of Wales.

On 31 October 1460,^[4] Richard of York was briefly created Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester, Duke of Cornwall and Lord Protector of England by an Act of Parliament following the Act of Accord, as part of his arrangement to succeed Henry VI as king instead of Henry's own son.^[5] However Richard was killed in battle soon afterwards.

Heraldic insignia

As heir apparent to the reigning 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 King Edward VIII in 1910, and followed by the current Prince of Wales, Prince Charles.^[6]

He has a badge of three ostrich feathers (which can be seen on the reverse of the previous design for decimal British two pence coins dated up to 2008); it dates back to the Black Prince and is his as the English heir even before he is made Prince of Wales.

In addition to these symbols used most frequently, he has a special standard for use in Wales itself. Moreover, as Duke of Rothesay he has a special coat of arms for use in Scotland (and a corresponding standard); as Duke of Cornwall the like for use in the Duchy of Cornwall. Representations of all three may be found at List of British flags.

For theories about the origin of the ostrich feather badge and of the motto "Ich dien" (German for "I serve"), see Prince of Wales's feathers.

Other titles and investiture

The Principality of Wales and Earldom of Chester must be created, and are not automatically acquired like the Duchy of Cornwall, which is the Heir Apparent's title in England, and the Dukedom of Rothesay, Earldom of Carrick, and High Stewardship of Scotland, which are the Heir Apparent's titles in Scotland. The dignities are not hereditary, but may be re-created if the Prince of Wales predeceases the King. For example, Prince Frederick predeceased King George II, so Frederick's eldest son, Prince George (the future George III), was created Prince of Wales. The heir apparent is only Duke of Cornwall if he is the sovereign's eldest living son; hence the future George III, grandson of George II, did not receive this title. See Duke of Cornwall for more details.

If holder of the Dukedom of York, the traditional title for the monarch's second son, becomes Heir Apparent on the death of an older brother, he is entitled to retain that title. Prince Henry (later Henry VIII), Prince Charles (later Charles I) and Prince George (later George V) were all second sons, and were therefore already Duke of York when they received the Principality of Wales.

Following the reversion of the Earldom of Chester to the Crown, in 1254 Henry III passed the Lordship of Chester (but not the title of Earl) to his son Edward, who as Edward I bestowed the Earldom of Chester on his son Edward when he created him the first Prince of Wales in 1301. The Duchy of Cornwall was first created by Edward III for his son Edward, the Black Prince in 1337.

The Earldom of Carrick merged into the Crown of Scotland with the accession in 1306 of the Earl of Carrick, Robert the Bruce, who transferred the title to his son David in 1328 (the title became automatically subsidiary to the Dukedom of Rothesay in 1469); the High Stewardship merged into the crown with the accession of Robert, 7th High Steward of Scotland as Robert III in 1371; the Dukedom of Rothesay was created by Robert III of Scotland for his son David in 1398. All three of these titles merged with the Principality in the same person after the personal union of the Scottish and English crowns in 1603 with the accession of James VI of Scotland as James I of England, with the first Prince of Wales to receive them being his son Henry Frederick (subsequently an incorporating union created a single British crown in 1707).

Princes of Wales may be invested, but investiture is not necessary to be created Prince of Wales. Peers were also invested, but investitures for peers ceased in 1621, during a time when peerages were being created so frequently that the investiture ceremony became cumbersome. Most investitures for Princes of Wales were held in front of Parliament, but in 1911, the future Edward VIII was invested in Caernarfon Castle in Wales. The present Prince of Wales was also invested there, in 1969. 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 pattée 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 formally 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 sword and a robe.

Heir apparent versus heir presumptive

The title Prince of Wales is given only to the heir apparent—that is, somebody who cannot be displaced in the succession to the throne by any future birth. The succession had followed male primogeniture, which meant that the heir apparent was the eldest son of the reigning monarch, or, if he was deceased, his eldest son, and so on, or if the monarch's eldest son had died without issue, the monarch's second eldest son, etc. As such, a daughter of the sovereign who was next in line to the throne was never the "heir apparent" because she would be displaced in the succession by any future legitimate son of the sovereign, and could not therefore take the title.

On 28 October 2011, the leaders of all 16 Commonwealth realms agreed to end the practice of male primogeniture regarding heirs to the throne.^[7] The Succession to the Crown Act 2013 was introduced on 12 December 2012, published the next day, and received Royal Assent on 25 April 2013.^[8] It was brought into force on 26 March 2015,^[9] at the same time as the other Commonwealth realms implemented the Perth Agreement in their own laws.^[10] No woman has ever held the title Princess of Wales in her own right, although a female first child may one day hold that title.

Since the title of Prince of Wales is not automatic, there have been times where there was no Prince of Wales. There was no heir apparent during the reign of George VI, who had no sons. Princess Elizabeth was heiress presumptive, and was hence not eligible to be titled Princess of Wales. After it became unlikely that George VI would father more children, the option of bestowing the title of Princess of Wales was considered (but ultimately rejected, due in large part to a lack of enthusiasm for the idea from the heiress presumptive herself). There was also no Prince of Wales for the first several years of the reign of Elizabeth II. Prince Charles was not named Prince of Wales until 1958 when he was nine years old.

The title of Princess of Wales has always been held by the Prince's wife in her capacity as spouse of the heir apparent and therefore future queen consort. The current Princess of Wales is Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, who automatically assumed the title upon her legal marriage to Charles, Prince of Wales. Camilla however has chosen not to be publicly known by the title due to its association with her predecessor, Diana.

List of Princes of Wales

Prince of Wales as independent title

Picture	Name	Heir of	Birth	Became Prince of Wales	Ceased to be Prince of Wales	Death	Other titles while Prince of Wales	Princess of Wales
	Dafydd ap Llywelyn	son of Llywelyn ab Iorwerth	c. April 1212	11 April 1240; first documented use in 1244	25 February 1246		Prince of Gwynedd and of Aberffraw, Lord of Snowdon	Isabella de Braose
	Llywelyn ap Gruffudd	N/A son of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn	c.1223	Succeeded Dafydd in 1246 as prince of Gwynedd; used title "prince of Wales" from 1258; recognised by Henry III 29 September 1267	11 December 1282 killed in battle		Prince of Gwynedd and of Aberffraw, Lord of Snowdon	Eleanor de Montfort
	Dafydd ap Gruffydd	brother of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd	c.1238	11 December 1282	3 October 1283 executed at Shrewsbury		Prince of Gwynedd and Aberffraw, Lord of Snowdon	Elizabeth Ferrers

Prince of Wales as title of English or British heir apparent

Picture	Name	Heir of	Birth	Became Heir-apparent to the Throne	Created Prince of Wales	Ceased to be Prince of Wales	Death	Other titles while Prince of Wales	Princess of Wales
	Edward of Caernarfon later Edward II	Edward I	25 April 1284	19 August 1284	7 February 1301	7 July 1307 became King	21 September 1327	Count of Ponthieu, Earl of Chester	–
	Edward of Woodstock, the Black Prince	Edward III	15 June 1330		12 May 1343[11]	8 June 1376		Earl of Chester, Duke of Cornwall	Joan of Kent
	Richard of Bordeaux later Richard II		6 January 1367	8 June 1376	20 November 1376[11]	22 June 1377 became King	14 February 1400	Duke of Cornwall, Earl of Chester	–
	Henry of Monmouth later Henry V	Henry IV	16 September 1387	30 September 1399	15 October 1399[11]	21 March 1413 became King	31 August 1422	Duke of Lancaster, Duke of Cornwall, Earl of Chester	–
	Richard of York	Henry VI	21 September 1411	25 October 1460	31 October 1460[4]	30 December 1460		Lord Protector of England, Duke of Cornwall, Earl of Chester (all disputed with Edward of Westminster); Duke of York, Earl of Ulster, Earl of March, Earl of Cambridge, feudal Lord of Clare and Baron Mortimer of Wigmore	Cecily Neville
	Edward of Westminster		13 October 1453		15 March 1454[11]	11 April 1471 Father deposed	4 May 1471	Duke of Cornwall, Earl of Chester (all disputed with Richard Duke of York, 31 October–30 December 1460)	Anne Neville
	Edward later Edward V	Edward IV	4 November 1470	11 April 1471	26 June 1471[11]	9 April 1483 became King	1483?	Duke of Cornwall, Earl of Chester	–
	Edward of Middleham	Richard III	1473	1483	24 August 1483[11]	31 March or 9 April 1484		Duke of Cornwall, Earl of Chester, Earl of Salisbury	–
	Arthur Tudor	Henry VII	20 September 1486		29 November 1489	2 April 1502		Duke of Cornwall, Earl of Chester	Catherine of Aragon
	Henry Tudor later Henry VIII		28 June 1491	2 April 1502	18 February 1504[11]	21 April 1509 became King	28 January 1547	Duke of Cornwall, Earl of Chester, Duke of York	–
	Edward Tudor later Edward VI	Henry VIII	12 October 1537		– [11]	28 January 1547 became King	6 July 1553	Duke of Cornwall, Earl of Chester	–
	Henry Frederick Stuart	James I	19 February 1594	24 March 1603	4 June 1610[11]	6 November 1612		Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Chester, Earl of Carrick, Baron Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, Prince and Great Steward of Scotland	–
	Charles Stuart later Charles I		19 November 1600	6 November 1612	4 November 1616[11]	27 March 1625 became King	30 January 1649	Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Duke of York, Duke of Albany, Marquess of Ormonde, Earl of Chester, Earl of Carrick, Earl of Ross, Lord Ardmannoch, Baron Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, Prince and Great Steward of Scotland	–
	Charles Stuart later Charles II	Charles I	29 May 1630		declared c. 1638–1641[11]	30 January 1649 title abolished (became King 1660)	6 February 1685	Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Chester, Earl of Carrick, Baron Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, Prince and Great Steward of Scotland	–
	James Francis Edward Stuart	James II	10 June 1688		c. 4 July 1688[11]	11 December 1688 Father deposed	1 January 1766	Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Chester, Earl of Carrick, Baron Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, Prince and Great Steward of Scotland	–
	George Augustus later George II	George I	10 November 1683	1 August 1714	27 September 1714	11 June 1727 became King	25 October 1760	Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Duke of Cambridge, Earl of Chester, Earl of Carrick, Earl of Milford Haven, Viscount Northallerton, Baron Renfrew, Baron Tewkesbury, Lord of the Isles, Prince and Great Steward of Scotland	Caroline of Ansbach
	Frederick Louis	George II	1 February 1707	11 June 1727	8 January 1729[11]	31 March 1751		Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Duke of Edinburgh, Marquess of the Isle of Ely, Earl of Chester, Earl of Carrick, Earl of Eltham, Viscount Launceston, Baron Renfrew, Baron Snowdon, Lord of the Isles, Prince and Great Steward of Scotland	Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha
	George William Frederick later George III		4 June 1738	31 March 1751	20 April 1751	25 October 1760 became King	29 January 1820	Duke of Edinburgh, Marquess of the Isle of Ely, Earl of Chester, Earl of Eltham, Viscount Launceston, Baron Snowdon	–
	George Augustus Frederick later George IV	George III	12 August 1762		19 August 1762[11]	29 January 1820 became King	26 June 1830	Prince Regent, Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Chester, Earl of Carrick, Baron Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, Prince and Great Steward of Scotland	Caroline of Brunswick
	Albert Edward later Edward VII	Victoria	9 November 1841		8 December 1841	22 January 1901 became King	6 May 1910	Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Chester, Earl of Carrick, Earl of Dublin, Baron Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, Prince and Great Steward of Scotland	Alexandra of Denmark
	George Frederick Ernest Albert later George V	Edward VII	3 June 1865	22 January 1901	9 November 1901[12]	6 May 1910 became King	20 January 1936	Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Duke of York, Earl of Chester, Earl of Carrick, Earl of Inverness, Baron Renfrew, Baron Killarney, Lord of the Isles, Prince and Great Steward of Scotland	Mary of Teck
	Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David later Edward VIII then Duke of Windsor	George V	23 June 1894	6 May 1910	23 June 1911	20 January 1936 became King	28 May 1972	Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Chester, Earl of Carrick, Baron Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, Prince and Great Steward of Scotland
	Charles Philip Arthur George	Elizabeth II	14 November 1948	6 February 1952	26 July 1958	Incumbent		Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Chester, Earl of Carrick, Baron Renfrew, Lord of the Isles, Prince and Great Steward of Scotland	Lady Diana Spencer; Camilla Shand (Camilla does not use title "Princess of Wales")
Picture	Name	Heir of	Birth	Became Heir-apparent to the Throne	Created Prince of Wales	Ceased to be Prince of Wales	Death	Other titles while Prince of Wales	Princess of Wales

The oldest Prince of Wales (as the English and British heir apparent) at the start of his tenure was George Frederick Ernest Albert, later George V, who was 36 years, 5 months and 6 days old when he assumed the office. HRH The Duke of Cambridge will surpass this record if he is created Prince of Wales any time after 16 November 2018 (two days after his father's 70th birthday).

The longest-serving Prince of Wales was Albert Edward, later Edward VII, who served for 59 years, 1 month and 14 days. Charles Philip Arthur George, the longest-serving heir apparent and current Prince of Wales, will surpass this record if he remains the Prince of Wales until 10 September 2017.

See also

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Princes of Wales.

• The Prince of Wales (official website) which includes a list of and history of previous Princes of Wales since Llewelyn ap Gruffydd (aka Llewelyn the Last).
• Monarchy Wales – leading campaign organisation
• The Straight Dope: How can I become Prince of Wales?
• The Royal Family Tree of Europe
• Portrait of The Prince of Wales by David Griffiths
• Painting & Patronage

Princes of Wales Edward (1301–1307) Edward (1343–1376) Richard (1376–1377) Henry (1399–1413) Edward (1454–1471) Richard (1460; disputed) Edward (1471–1483) Edward (1483–1484) Arthur (1489–1502) Henry (1504–1509) Edward (1537–1547) Henry (1610–1612) Charles (1616–1625) Charles (1641–1649) James (1688) George (1714–1727) Frederick (1729–1751) George (1751–1760) George (1762–1820) Albert Edward (1841–1901) George (1901–1910) Edward (1910–1936) Charles (1958–present) See also: Principality of Wales

British royal titles King/Queen of United Kingdom (consort), Duke of Lancaster & Duke of Normandy Duke of Edinburgh Prince of Wales (Princess), Duke of Cornwall (Duchess) & Duke of Rothesay (Duchess) Princess Royal Duke of York (Duchess) Duke of Gloucester Duke of Kent Duke of Cambridge Earl of Wessex Inactive titles Duke of Albany Duke of Albemarle Duke of Clarence Duke of Clarence and Avondale Duke of Clarence and St Andrews Duke of Connaught and Strathearn Duke of Cumberland Duke of Cumberland and Strathearn Duke of Cumberland and Teviotdale Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh Duke of Hereford Duke of Kendal Duke of Kent and Strathearn Duke of Kintyre and Lorne Duke of Ross Duke of Sussex Duke of Windsor Duke of York and Albany