A petition calling for the Prince of Wales title to no longer be used has gained more than 25,000 signatures. The petition says the title should end "out of respect".
After ascending to the throne, King Charles declared Prince William the Prince of Wales. He also made William's wife Kate, the Princess of Wales - it is the first time the title has been held by anyone since Princess Diana.
The petition calls for the Prince of Wales title to end "out of respect" for the Welsh. The petition website reads: “The title remains an insult to Wales and is a symbol of historical oppression. The title implies that Wales is still a principality, undermining Wales’ status as a nation and a country. In addition, the title has absolutely no constitutional role for Wales, which is now a devolved country with a national Parliament.”
It also claims neither the “Welsh parliament nor the people of Wales were notified, let alone consulted” about the decision to name William Prince of Wales. Wales’ First Minister Mark Drakeford confirmed in an interview with Radio Cymru that he had not been told before the King’s announcement.
He has said a debate on the subject would be “absolutely proper” but that it should be left until some time after the Queen’s funeral on Monday. Adding: “We look forward to deepening our relationship with the new Prince and Princess.”
The petition goes on to quote actor Michael Sheen from an interview with political journalist Owen Jones, during which he revealed he had handed back his OBE in 2017. Mr Sheen said he did not want to be a “hypocrite” after researching Welsh history for his Raymond Williams Memorial Lecture speech in 2017, and wrote to the then Prince Charles explaining he meant “absolutely no disrespect”.
He said: “Make a break there. Put some things that have been the wrongs of the past right. Don’t necessarily just because of habit and without thinking just carry on that tradition that was started as a humiliation to our country.”
He added: “When that change and the traditional requirements would mean the Prince of Wales would become a new person, and a new Englishman, it would be, I think, a really meaningful and powerful gesture for that title to no longer be held in the same way as it has before. That would be an incredibly meaningful thing I think to happen.”
A similar sentiment was expressed by Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price during his tribute to the Queen at the Motion of Condolence session held in the Senedd on Sunday. Mr Price referenced moments throughout Queen Elizabeth’s reign when she broke with the status quo, including when she bowed her head at the garden of remembrance in Dublin during her first visit to the Irish Republic.
And he said: “Perhaps, as Queen Elizabeth begins her final journey and we consider what the future holds, we can follow the Queen’s own injunction in that great Dublin speech to bow to the past, but not be bound by it.”
In a tweet following Charles’ announcement, Mr Price said: “It is Plaid Cymru’s long-held view that it should be the people’s democratic right to have a final say on this matter in an independent Wales. For now, Plaid Cymru’s thoughts are with the Royal Family as they grieve.”
A statement released by Kensington Palace said the Prince expressed that he and Catherine would “do their part to support the aspirations of the Welsh people”. It said: “The prince and princess look forward to celebrating Wales’s proud history and traditions as well as a future that is full of promise.”
