The Queen and Prince Charles (later Charles III) on the balcony of Caernarfon Castle following the investiture. The Prince of Wales is adorned with a coronet, scepter, and robe.The setting for the 1969 investiture ceremony in Caernarfon Castle
The investiture of Charles, Prince of Wales (later King Charles III), took place in Caernarfon Castle, north Wales, on 1 July 1969. The ceremony formally presented the title of Prince of Wales to the 20-year-old Charles, eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II. He was the 21st heir to the English or British throne to hold the title. The investiture was a revival of a ceremony which had first been used for the previous prince of Wales, Edward (Charles's great-uncle), in 1911. The 1969 event was watched by 500 million people worldwide on television,[1] but it received some opposition in particular from Welsh nationalist organisations.
The title Prince of Wales is one that has traditionally been bestowed to the male heir apparent of the English or British monarch, since Edward I of England gave his son Edward of Caernarfon the title in 1284. The bestowal is not automatic, however, nor hereditary.[2] Edward had been born in Caernarfon Castle in 1284, possibly a deliberate statement by Edward I to the recently conquered Welsh.[3] The Prince of Wales title came with the royal lands in Wales, as well as the title Earl of Chester. The Prince of Wales spent five weeks in Caernarfon in 1301 but would never return again.[3]
After rising against the English, native Welshman Owain Glyndwr proclaimed himself Prince of Wales in 1400 but, since his defeat in 1409, the title has reverted to a ceremonial one, given to heirs of the English throne.[2]
Queen Elizabeth II made her eldest son, Charles, Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester by letters patent on 26 July 1958 when he was only nine years old. He was the 21st to be given the title.[4] Elizabeth's uncle Edward, the future King Edward VIII, had been the previous Prince of Wales and had been invested in the title at Caernarfon Castle in 1911 before becoming King in 1936.[4] The 1911 ceremony was a new invention, though using medieval symbolism, which would be repeated by Charles's investiture in 1969.[5]
The investiture was preceded by a year-long promotional campaign called "Croeso '69" (Welcome '69) designed to raise the profile of Wales and promote tourism. The UK's Labour government had ambitions to modernise Britain, including Wales where old industries were being replaced by new businesses and technology.[6]
The 1911 gold coronet, having gone missing, needed to be replaced in 1969, though by one with a modern design. After the death of the Duke of Windsor – the former Edward VIII – in 1972, the old coronet was found in his possessions.[5]
Ten days prior to the investiture, a documentary co-produced by the BBC and ITV called Royal Family was broadcast, showing the royals going about their everyday lives. It raised the royal family to the forefront of the public eye.[7]
Event
Parade through the streets of Caernarfon
Charles was formally invested with the title Prince of Wales at a ceremony at Caernarfon Castle on 1 July 1969. The event was organised by a specially established Investiture Committee, chaired by the earl marshal, Bernard Fitzalan-Howard, 16th Duke of Norfolk.[1] With a growing national consciousness rising in Wales at the time, the investiture needed to celebrate both the pride in Wales and the current British monarchy.[8]
Charles's uncle Lord Snowdon, being a professional photographer, arranged the ceremony to be television-friendly.[9] The ceremony took place on a circular slate dais shielded by a large modern canopy of perspex which allowed the audience and television cameras to watch the proceedings.[6]
Prior to the investiture, Charles spent nine weeks at Aberystwyth University learning to speak the Welsh language, taught by Welsh nationalist Dr Tedi Millward.[9] Charles consequently was able to give a speech at the investiture, in Welsh and English, where he pledged "to associate [himself] in word and deed with as much of the life of the Principality as possible".[10]
For an hour prior to the arrival of the royal family, a procession of dignitaries and guests paraded through the town and entered the castle through the Water Gate, led by the king's heralds with a guard of honour of the Welsh Guards.[11] Several dozen teenagers followed, representatives of Welsh youth. Then came the invited members of the House of Lords, the members and aldermen of Caernarvon Borough Council, members of the Gorsedd and the National Eisteddfod Court, chairmen of the 13 Welsh county councils, county sheriffs and the Welsh MPs. Church representatives arrived, then the prime minister, Harold Wilson, and his wife, Mary; the home secretary, James Callaghan; and the chiefs of staff of the armed forces.[11]
In front of the invited audience of 4,000 people inside the castle,[1] Charles came to the stage and knelt on a scarlet cushion. The secretary of state for Wales read the Letters Patent in Welsh as the Queen gave Charles a golden rod, a mantle, a sword, a girdle, the new coronet and a ring.[13] The prince then took an oath, announcing:
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.[13][14]
The prince kissed his mother on the cheek[7] before being led by the Queen to the balcony of the Queen's Gate to greet the crowds waiting outside the castle.[14] He later sat himself on a throne, between two further thrones occupied by the Queen to one side and his father, the Duke of Edinburgh, sitting to the other side.[7]
The ceremony was broadcast live on BBC television, in black and white on BBC1 and in colour on BBC2, from 10:30am until 4:30pm. It was also broadcast on BBC Radio 3 and bilingually on BBC Radio 4 Wales.[15] It had an audience of 19 million in the UK and 500million worldwide.[1] Though 250,000 visitors were predicted for Caernarfon, only about 90,000 visited the town to see the event for themselves. It was believed many people chose to watch the ceremony at home on television instead.[16]
Protest against the Investiture of Charles, Prince of Wales at the memorial to Llywelyn the Last, native Prince of Wales in Cilmeri, near Builth Wells in 1969.
The 1960s movement surrounding the investiture has historically been described as the "anti-investiture movement"[18]:207[19][20] and "anti-investiture sentiment".[21] The investiture occurred during a period of revival of the Welsh national consciousness with an outspoken section considering it as an English Prince being imposed upon Wales.[22]
The investiture faced fierce opposition from people who saw the Prince of Wales as symbolic of Wales's occupation by the English crown. Nationalist anti-English sentiment had been on the rise, particularly since 1957 when a Welsh valley was flooded to provide water for the English city of Liverpool.[9]
In November 1967, as the Earl of Snowdon visited Cardiff to discuss arrangements for the investiture, a bomb went off.[23]
Protesters opposing the investiture of Prince Charles at Caernarfon Castle (1969)
Communities and institutions were divided on the issue of the investiture. These included the Urdd, Plaid Cymru, the Gorsedd and non-conformist denominations. Students in all of the University of Wales campuses held multiple sit-in protests and hunger strikes to show their opposition to the investiture. The FWA and Mudiad Amddiffyn Cymru also added to the tension. Because of the tension and protests leading up to the investiture of July 1969, the UK government drafted many soldiers and detectives, as well as agents provocateurs, to ensure a smoothly running ceremony in Caernarfon.[24] Campaigning was led by Mudiad Amddiffyn Cymru (MAC, Movement for the Defence of Wales) and the Free Wales Army, with the situation described before the investiture as "something close to open warfare between the Government's police and young people of Wales".[25]
Welsh singer Dafydd Iwan voiced his opposition and protest against investing Charles as Prince of Wales and also wrote a song "Carlo" mocking Charles.[26] Iwan stated "[It is a] song to be taken lightly, ... like the Investiture itself, and every other vanity. The shame is that there was meaning and a serious purpose to [the role of] Prince of Wales once".[26] The 25-year-old Dafydd Iwan's song became a popular anthem at the time.[27]
The Welsh language youth festival, the Urdd Eisteddfod, elected not to send representatives to the investiture. But, due to their 1969 festival taking place in Aberystwyth where Charles was studying, the prince was invited to speak at the event. Protests erupted at the moment Charles started his speech, with two large groups simultaneously walking out shouting slogans including "Urdd has been betrayed".[28]
Tedi Millward, professor of Welsh at Aberystwyth University, became friendly with Charles in the lead-up to the investiture whilst teaching him some Welsh. He refused invitations to the investiture ceremony, as well as the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer. Charles himself said in 2019 "Every day I had to go down to the town where I went to these lectures, and most days there seemed to be a demonstration going on against me".[29]
Cofia 1282 (Remember 1282) a protest against the investiture of Charles.
The investiture of Charles as "Prince of Wales was controversial and also led to widespread protests in Wales. The group "Cofia 1282" ("Remember 1282", the death year of Llywelyn the Last) also held protests against the investiture.[30]
The Welsh Language society (Cymdeithas yr Iaith) also held a rally against the investiture on 29 August, 1969 at Cilmeri, the site of the death of Llywelyn the Last.[18]:206
The day before the 1969 investiture, two members of MAC were killed when their home-made bomb exploded prematurely in Abergele, while they were planting it on a local government building.[9][31] There were false speculations that they had intended to blow up the royal train.[9]
Day of investiture
A section of a protest against the investiture outside the castle in March 1969
On the day of the investiture, a few nonviolent protesters were arrested. Some were escorted away carrying signs saying "Cymru nid Prydain" (Wales not Britain). Others booed and made obscene gestures at the royal carriages.[18]:235 One protester threw an egg at the Queen’s carriage as it passed by.[32] Another threw a banana skin under the feet of the military escort as it processed by.[33]
On the day of the ceremony, a young man threw an egg at the Queen's carriage, and he was leapt upon by the surrounding crowd.[34] Helicopters flew overhead, drain covers in Caernarfon were sealed, and radio stations were surrounded by barbed wire, which meant a planned storming[clarification needed] of Caernarfon Castle was impossible.[25]
In popular culture
The Prince of Wales's investiture was recreated during season 3 of the Netflix television series, The Crown. Episode 6, named Tywysog Cymru (Prince of Wales) was first broadcast in November 2019, and portrays Charles's attendance at Aberystwyth University where he learnt to speak Welsh.[9] The episode diverts from reality by showing Charles rewriting a Welsh-only speech to express an affinity with the Welsh struggle against oppression.[10]
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the English and, later, British thrones. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Gwynedd who, from the late 12th century, used it to assert their supremacy over the other Welsh rulers. However, to mark the finalisation of his conquest of Wales, in 1301, Edward I of England invested his son Edward of Caernarfon with the title, thereby beginning the tradition of giving the title to the heir apparent when he was the monarch's son or grandson. The title was later claimed by the leader of a Welsh rebellion, Owain Glyndŵr, from 1400 until 1415.
Caernarfon is a royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales. It has a population of 9,852. It lies along the A487 road, on the eastern shore of the Menai Strait, opposite the island of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is 8.6 miles (13.8 km) to the north-east, while Snowdonia (Eryri) fringes Caernarfon to the east and south-east.
Dafydd Wynne Wigley, Baron Wigley, is a Welsh politician who served as the leader of Plaid Cymru from 1981 to 1984 and again from 1991 to 2000. He served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Caernarfon from 1974 to 2001 and as the Member of the Welsh Assembly for Caernarfon from 1999 to 2003. In 2010, Wigley was granted life peerage, taking his seat in the House of Lords in 2011.
Dafydd Iwan Jones is a Welsh singer and nationalist politician who rose to fame writing and performing folk music in the Welsh language. From 2003 to 2010, Iwan was the president of Plaid Cymru, a political party which advocates for Welsh independence from the UK.
Welsh nationalism emphasises and celebrates the distinctiveness of Welsh culture and Wales as a nation or country. Welsh nationalism may also include calls for further autonomy or self-determination, which includes Welsh devolution, meaning increased powers for the Senedd, or full Welsh independence.
The Principality of Wales was originally the territory of the native Welsh princes of the House of Aberffraw from 1216 to 1283, encompassing two-thirds of modern Wales during its height of 1267–1277. Following the conquest of Wales by Edward I of England of 1277 to 1283, those parts of Wales retained under the direct control of the English crown, principally in the north and west of the country, were re-constituted as a new Principality of Wales and ruled either by the monarch or the monarch's heir though not formally incorporated into the Kingdom of England. This was ultimately accomplished with the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542 when the Principality ceased to exist as a separate entity.
Welsh gold is gold found in natural geological deposits in two distinct areas of Wales and highly prized because of its origin and scarcity.
The Coronet of Charles, Prince of Wales is a small crown that is part of the Honours of Wales. The gold coronet, with diamonds set in platinum, was made for and used by King Charles III at his investiture as Prince of Wales in 1969. Designed by the artist Louis Osman, the coronet was a gift from the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths to the Prince's mother, Queen Elizabeth II. It has been described as modern but its form is traditional. The coronet is on permanent display in the Jewel House at the Tower of London.
Llywelyn's coronet is a lost treasure of Welsh history. It is recorded that Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Prince of Wales and Lord of Aberffraw had deposited this crown and other items 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 alongside other holy artefacts in 1284 from the ruins of the defeated Kingdom of Gwynedd. Thereafter it was taken to London and presented at the shrine of Edward the Confessor in Westminster Abbey by King Edward I of England as a token of the complete annihilation of the independent Welsh state.
The National Eisteddfod of Wales is the largest of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales. Its eight days of competitions and performances are considered the largest music and poetry festival in Europe. Competitors typically number 6,000 or more, and overall attendance generally exceeds 100,000 visitors, the highest recently being 118,000 attending the 2022 festival. The 2018 Eisteddfod was held in Cardiff Bay with a fence-free 'Maes'. In 2020, the event was held virtually under the name AmGen; events were held over a one-week period.
Welsh republicanism or republicanism in Wales is the political ideology that advocates for Wales to be governed by a republican system, as opposed to the monarchy of the United Kingdom.
This article is about the particular significance of the year 1969 to Wales and its people.
Wales in the late Middle Ages spanned the years 1282–1542, beginning with conquest and ending in union. Those years covered the period involving the closure of Welsh medieval royal houses during the late 13th century, and Wales' final ruler of the House of Aberffraw, the Welsh Prince Llywelyn II, also the era of the House of Plantagenet from England, specifically the male line descendants of Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou as an ancestor of one of the Angevin kings of England who would go on to form the House of Tudor from England and Wales.
Christopher David Williams was a Welsh artist.
Plaid Cymru originated in 1925 after a meeting held at that year's National Eisteddfod in Pwllheli, Caernarfonshire. Representatives from two Welsh nationalist groups founded the previous year, Byddin Ymreolwyr Cymru and Y Mudiad Cymreig, agreed to meet and discuss the need for a "Welsh party". The party was founded as Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru, the National Party of Wales, and attracted members from the left, right and centre of the political spectrum, including both monarchists and republicans. Its principal aims include the promotion of the Welsh language and the political independence of the Welsh nation.
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.
The Urdd National Eisteddfod is an annual Welsh-language youth festival of literature, music and performing arts organised by Urdd Gobaith Cymru. It is the youth counterpart to the National Eisteddfod of Wales. Arguably Europe's largest youth festival, it is usually held during the last week of May, coinciding with schools' half term holiday. Locations alternate between north and south Wales. The Eisteddfod consists of competitive singing, recitation, art, composition, dance and instrumental events for contestants aged between 7 and 24 years. Regional qualifying heats are held in advance around Wales.
Caernarfon Castle is a medieval fortress in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. The first fortification on the site was a motte-and-bailey castle built in the late 11th century, which King Edward I of England began to replace with the current stone structure in 1283. The castle and town established by Edward acted as the administrative centre of north Wales, and as a result the defences were built on a grand scale. There was a deliberate link with Caernarfon's Roman past—nearby is the Roman fort of Segontium—and the castle's walls are reminiscent of the Walls of Constantinople.
Edward Glynne Millward, also known as Tedi Millward, was a Welsh scholar and nationalist politician.
The public investiture of Edward, Prince of Wales took place at Caernarfon Castle on Thursday 13 July 1911. This was the first investiture of the Prince of Wales to take place in Wales for centuries: since the 18th century, the Prince of Wales had been invested with his insignia of office privately, outside Wales.
↑ "Traders say TV 'killed' crowds". Western Mail. (Wales). 2 July 1969. p.5.
↑ Major Francis Jones (1 July 1969). "The Prince's Route Through Wales – Hills and the vales ready for welcome". Western Mail [Investiture Souvenir Guide]. (Wales). p.13.
1 2 "Crowds fall for Tricia". Western Mail. 2 July 1969. p.4. "Pretty Tricia Nixon, the 23-year-old daughter of President Richard Nixon, won the hearts of Welsh people yesterday when she arrived for the investiture. Although many people outside Caernarvon station did not recognise the small blonde in the white hat and white-and-green coat she stole the limelight on the station platform from even the Prime Minister, Mr Harold Wilson, who travelled on the same train..."
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