Investiture of the Prince of Wales

The Investiture of the Prince of Wales is the ceremony marking the formal creation of the title of Prince of Wales, similar to a coronation. It should be noted that investiture is not required for Princes of Wales, who are created via Letters patent, and is a formal ceremony only.

History

The tradition of investing the heir of the monarch of Britain 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, Prince Edward (later King Edward II of England).

Form

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 Caernarvon Castle in Wales. The present Prince of Wales was also invested there, in 1969.

Regalia

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 girdle, a sword and a robe.

Coronets

It is recorded that Llywelyn the Last 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. [http://encyclopedia.farlex.com/Wales:+history+1066+to+1485]

when each was Prince of Wales.

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

When the Edward VIII of the United Kingdom went into exile as the Duke of Windsor in 1936, he took with him the Coronet of George, Prince of Wales, a highly controversial – and illegal – act. This coronet had, since 1902, been used by successive Princes of Wales at their investitures, including his own investiture of 1911. The traditional coronet being unavailable, and with the older Coronet of Frederick, Prince of Wales being viewed unusable due to age, the only option was the creation of a new Prince of Wales crown to be used for the investiture of the current Heir Apparent to the throne 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.

Investiture of Prince Charles

. [http://www.princeofwales.gov.uk/personalprofiles/theprinceofwales/biography/investiture/]

The investiture also aroused considerable hostility among some Welsh people, and some were under constant police surveillance and were the subject of much intimidation from the secret services.Fact|date=August 2008 Threats of violence ensued as well as a short bombing campaign, although these acts were generally more related to the greater nationalist campaign for Welsh independence.Fact|date=August 2008 The nationalist campaign against the investiture culminated with an attempted bombing of the royal train by two members of the Mudiad Amddiffyn Cymru as it passed through Abergele on the eve of the investiture, resulting in the two bombers' deaths.Fact|date=August 2008

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