‘The demands on a Prince of Wales have altered,’ 20-year-old Charles said at his Caernarfon investiture in 1969, with some trepidation. ‘But I am determined to serve and to try as best I can to live up to those demands, whatever they might be in the rather uncertain future.’
Half a century later that future is certain: William has become the new Prince of Wales. The demands of the role are far greater than when Charles spoke in North Wales some 50 years ago. And every modern Prince of Wales faces a dilemma: how to deal with the Crown’s complicated relationship with the Welsh.
Charles established a high bar over half a century. As well as becoming the patron of Welsh charities and institutions, he assembled a team of expert advisers to help show off his Cymrophile credentials. By comparison, few of his predecessors showed any interest in the country. None had Charles’s passion for the Welsh language, landscape and poetry, his recognition of the rich distinctiveness of the country, and his understanding of the tension associated with his own role.
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