On the first night of his reign, with his mother dead a day, King Charles III turned to a title he had worn for most of his life and gave it away. “Today, I am proud to create him Prince of Wales, Tywysog Cymru,” he said of his son William.
It was Friday, and Charles was delivering his first address to the nation after the death of Queen Elizabeth II at 96. Catherine, he said, would be at William’s side. “With Catherine beside him, our new Prince and Princess of Wales will, I know, continue to inspire and lead our national conversations,” the King said, adding that they would help “bring the marginal to the centre ground where vital help can be given.”
The royal family website had changed the couple’s titles by the time the speech ended. William and Catherine also take the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall titles, which Charles and his wife Camilla, now Queen Consort, had held.
Catherine is the first person to use the Princess of Wales title since Diana. Camilla held it too, but never used it. Catherine said she “appreciates the history associated with this role.” After her engagement to William in 2010 she had called Diana “an inspirational woman to look up to.” William said then: “There’s no pressure because, like Kate said, it is about carving your own future. No one is trying to fill my mother’s shoes.”
A title with a short history
The Prince of Wales title does not pass automatically to the heir. Charles received it in 1958, six years into his mother’s reign, and was invested at Caernarfon Castle, Gwynedd, in 1969, aged 20. Millions watched the ceremony on television.
In Wales, opinion is split. An ITV and YouGov poll of 1,020 people in June 2022 found 46% thought there should be another Prince of Wales, while 31% did not. By Saturday morning a petition calling for the title’s abolition, which some see as a symbol of subjugation, had passed 7,000 signatures.
Welsh first minister Mark Drakeford said he looked forward to “deepening our relationship with the new Prince and Princess of Wales as they take on their new duties.” Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price said there would be time for a public debate on the title, but that for now the party’s thoughts were with the royal family as they grieved.
Sources
Sources
- Catherine, Princess of Wales – Wikipedia
- Prince and Princess of Wales: William and Catherine… | The Guardian
