Prince of Wales:Title Usually Given to the Monarch's Eldest Son

Feb 15, 2011
Jennifer Young

Caernarfon Castle, birthplace of Edward II, Prince of Wales - Photo by Jennifer Young

The title Prince of Wales has traditionally been conferred on the male heir to the throne. It has its origins in the Welsh Wars of the thirteenth century.

The Prince of Wales is a title traditionally, though not automatically, given to the male heir to the British throne. But not all Princes of Wales have become king – and not all kings of England (or, later, Britain) have previously held the title. This article examines the origin of the title and looks at some of its holders.

The Welsh Princedoms and the First English Prince of Wales

Wales was never a single kingdom: instead it comprised a number of small and often conflicting princedoms. It wasn’t until the thirteenth century that a single contender for the leadership arose, in the person of Llywellyn ap Gruffydd, initially Prince of Gwynedd, who declared himself Prince of Wales in 1258 and was recognised as such by the English king, Henry III, under the Treaty of Montgomery in 1267.

Although Wales had its prince, Llywellyn was not comfortable with a status quo which rendered him subject to the English and eventually rebelled against Henry’s successor, Edward I. The rebellion ended with Llywellyn’s death and the military subjugation of the Welsh: although popular opinion was not fully behind English rule.

The story of the dedication of the first Prince of Wales is well-known: Edward, in an attempt to pacify the Welsh, is said to have offered them a prince of their own, born in Wales, who could speak not a word of English. This promise he fulfilled in 1284 by presenting his new born son Edward, created Prince of Wales, to the Welsh rulers at Caernarfon.

The story is probably inaccurate, as Edward was not in fact created Prince of Wales until 1301: yet it contains a grain of truth (Phillips). Edward was, indeed, born at Caernarfon Castle and there were sound political reasons for Edward to establish a Princedom of Wales which would be under his direct control rather than that of the Welsh themselves.

Owain Glyn Dwr, Welsh Claimant to the Princedom of Wales

With the establishment of Wales and an English-dominated principality, the title of Prince of Wales was passed on intermittently. Edward II did not confer it on his oldest son and its next holder was his grandson,Edward the Black Prince, whose military and political interests were directed eastwards to France rather than westwards to Wales; and during the Wars of the Roses there was, in any case, some confusion as to who was heir to the throne.

It was in 1400 that a Welshman of noble birth, Owain Glyn Dwr (Owen Glendower) made the last attempt to wrest the principality from English rule. He declared himself Prince of Wales in 1400 (the title was held at the time by the future Henry V, then aged 12) and led an army in open rebellion. The uprising was eventually suppressed in 1415 and Glyn Dwr remains the last native claimant to the title.

Later Princes of Wales

In total, 21 men have held the title of Prince of Wales, although the title has not always been a lucky one. Nine of them did not succeed to the throne and it was the deaths of the young sons of Richard II and Henry VI which went some way to precipitating the competing claims of the Wars of the Roses. Other unlucky Princes of Wales include:

Edward, the Black Prince
James, the son of James VII, who became known as the Old Pretender and tried to reclaim the throne as James VIII during the first Jacobite rebellion

Of those who became King, the young son of Edward IV, was declared king but met a mysterious fate as one of the Princes in the Tower; while only one, Henry VIII, was created Prince of Wales following the death of a sibling who also bore the title – (after the death of his brother Arthur). No woman has been given the title in her own right.

Although not all Princes of Wales have paid a lot of attention to their responsibilities in the principality, the monarchy has in recent years taken steps to maintain links between the holder of the title and Wales. Both Edward VIII and the current holder of the title, Prince Charles, were invested as Princes of Wales in lavish ceremonies at Caernarvon Castle.