JFor decades, former British Crown Prince Charles held the title of Prince of Wales – on Friday he visited the part of the country that has become so much part of his identity for the first time as king. The stay in Cardiff concluded his travels, which had previously taken him to Scotland and Northern Ireland. After a memorial service to honor his late mother at Cardiff Cathedral, he received speeches of condolence from Sennedd President Elin Jones and Prime Minister Mark Drakeford in the Welsh Parliament, which he answered partly in Welsh. Wales was “very close to his mother’s heart,” he said.
He later met Drakeford personally, as did religious leaders and benefactors. Charles was greeted with cheers but also passed demonstrators. Silently, Welsh nationalists, pro-independence campaigners and trade unionists held up signs reading ‘We want true democracy – a Welsh Republic’ or ‘No more Prince of Wales’.
The demonstrators celebrated “Owain Glyndŵr Day” this Friday, which had been canceled in many cases due to the period of mourning for Queen Elizabeth. The anniversary commemorates the last Welshman to hold the title of Prince of Wales. Ever since King Henry V of England won the Welsh struggle for independence in 1415, the title has been borne exclusively by English and later British crown princes. Pro-independence advocates and Republicans see this as a symbol of heteronomy and have long called for crown princes to shed the title. Charles had passed the title to his son William in his first address as king.
Are protests harmful during the mourning period?
That Charles announced the unsurprising handover so soon after his mother’s death “made a lot of us think we had to react,” said one of the protest organizers, former Plaid Cymru MP Bethan Sayed, in the morning. He is constantly being told this is not the time to talk about the future of Wales, “but when the monarchy moves to a new king it is exactly the right time,” he said.
Drakeford, a Labor man who wants more autonomy for his nation but not statehood, called the morning’s protests “legitimate but disrespectful”. They would become a footnote of the day. At the same time, Drakeford warned that demonstrations during the mourning period “rather harm the cause”. In Edinburgh, earlier in the week, police arrested Scottish independence activists and Republicans protesting during the coffin procession. This has been criticized by civil rights activists.
Charles has made particular efforts to win over the Welsh in recent decades. Before his investiture as Prince of Wales in 1969, he had spent ten weeks at Cardiff University learning the language and history of the nation from a private tutor. At the coronation ceremony, which was televised live, he recited part of his oath in Welsh. It is still uncertain whether William will do something similar. Welsh Prime Minister Drakeford, who spoke to the Crown Prince about it, told the BBC on Friday that nobody in Wales “expects miracles”.
The inauguration Charles “can not be copied”, also said that “the Wales of 2022 is no longer the Wales of 1969”. Apparently, William wants to wear the Welsh crown like his father in Wales, albeit in a scaled-down ceremony. This is only after the coronation of Charles III. expected in London, which in turn is to take place next year at a date that has not yet been announced.
