The Prince of Wales is a title that has been given to the heirs of the British and English throne for over 700 years, yet the origins of this title are much older than that.
Most people do not know the original Welsh history of the title, and how its creation impacted the history of Wales, and unfortunately most online coverage of the history of the Prince of Wales gets it completely wrong.
So today I'm seeking to explain the Welsh history of the Prince of Wales, who was the first Prince of Wales, and why the heir to the British throne is called the Prince of Wales.
See how Owain Gwynedd defeated two English armies and almost killed the king of England:
https://youtu.be/6YpHJvl2A38
Chapters:
0:00 - Princeps Wallie
5:35 - Tywysog Cymru
12:14 - The Prince of Wales
Sources:
Davies, J. (2007). A History of Wales. London: Penguin, pp.125-231.
Maund, K. (2006). The Welsh Kings. 3rd ed. United Kingdom: The History Press Ltd, pp.153-229.
Pryce, H. (2010). Acts of the Welsh Rulers 1120-1283. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, pp.74-79.
Davies, R.R. (2000). The Age of Conquest: Wales, 1063-1415. Oxford University Press, p.44.
Jones, F. (1969). The Historical Background to the Investiture. Transactions of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion. pp.25-47
Evans, D.L. (1925-1926). Some Notes on the History of the Principality of Wales in the Time of the Black Prince. Transactions of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion. pp.28-30
Ellis, J.S. (1996). The Prince and the Dragon: Welsh National Identity and the 1911 Investiture of the Prince of Wales. Welsh History Review, 18(1), pp.272–294.
Morris, R.H. (1911). The Investiture of the Prince of Wales. Archaeologia Cambrensis, 11(9), p.220.
Morris, R.H. (1911). The Investiture of the Prince of Wales - III. Archaeologia Cambrensis, 11(9), pp.381–382.
Maud, R. (1968). David, the Last Prince of Wales. Transactions of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion, 1, pp.43–62.
Dodd, M.H. (1970). Nationalism in Wales: a Historical Assessment. Transactions of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion, 1, pp.40–41.
Thornton, T. (2000). Dynasty and Territory in the Early Modern Period: the Princes of Wales and Their Western British Inheritance. Welsh History Review, 20(1), pp.1–4.
Pryce, H. (1998). Owain Gwynedd and Louis VII: the Franco-Welsh Diplomacy of the First Prince of Wales. Welsh History Review, 19(1), pp.1–28.
Source for the map of the Principality of Wales and the Marcher Lords: a 'A History of Wales' by John Davies, page 227, and https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wales_14C_Map.png (XrysD, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons).
YouGov for ITV (2022/9/26). Prince of Wales: Majority back title for Prince William but investiture proves unpopular. ITV. https://www.itv.com/news/wales/2022-09-26/majority-in-favour-of-prince-of-wales-title-for-william-but-not-an-investiture.
Maps:
© OpenStreetMap contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA: https://www.openstreetmap.org/copyright
https://www.floodmap.net/
Music:
'It's Always Too Late to Start Over', 'Rewound', '
https://youtu.be/qk7WVmp2Z9A', 'John Stockton Slow Drag', 'Divider', 'But Enough About Me, Bill Paxton' by Chris Zabriskie are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Source: http://chriszabriskie.com/dtv/
Artist: http://chriszabriskie.com/
Images (Changes have been made):
Arms of the Prince of Wales - Sodacan, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Dwanye Johnson - Eva Rinaldi Celebrity and Live Music Photographer, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Wikipedia Screenshot - CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
Owain Gwynedd - National Library of Wales, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Louis VII - Alonso de Mendoza, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Gruffydd ap Cynan, Hogweard, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Vexilloid - Ssolbergj, CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/, via Wikimedia Commons
Rhys ap Gruffydd - NLW, CC0
The History of Cambria - NLW, CC0
Llywelyn Fawr - Rhion Pritchard, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Simon de Montfort - NotFromUtrecht, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Edward I - NLW, CC0
Flame Bearers of Welsh History - NLW, CC0
Arms of Llywelyn - Sodacan, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Owain Glyndwr - NLW, CC0
Edward II and Edward III - Hendrick Goltzius, CC0, via Rijks Museum
Richard II and Henry V - Hendrick Goltzius, CC0, via Rijks Museum
Welsh Judge - NLW, CC0
Battle of Evesham, The British Library, CC0
Charles III - Mark Jones from Stradishall, Newmarket, suffolk, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
HRH Prince William visited the Home of the UK Submarine Service in Argyll and Bute today (June 29) to meet with service personnel and to officially open a multi-million-pound training facility, OGL 3.0 https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/
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