Iwan Rheon: ‘The Prince of Wales is an archaic title – we need to get rid’
Actor Iwan Rheon has said that Wales does not need a prince after playing the role of Prince William in a TV show.
The Game of Thrones star said he agrees with actor Michael Sheen that the title should be discontinued.
Iwan Rheon took on the role of Prince William in the HBO animated comedy series The Prince, however he told the Telegraph newspaper that he felt no closer to the royal family for having done so.
“It’s an archaic title that was essentially invented to keep the Welsh down, to stop them having their own princes, by an English king,” he said.
“I think when Charles ascended to the throne, it should have just been got rid of … we don’t need it. It wouldn’t be just to keep us submissive …?”
When questioned about the alleged rift between William and Harry, he said: “I just don’t care. Good luck to them both. They do lots of wonderful stuff for environmental charities and their support for the WWF (World Wide Fund) is fantastic. But I’m staying neutral.”
Michael Sheen last year questioned what the title of Prince of Wales means to the Royal Family, after the King decided to visit Wales on Owain Glyndŵr Day.
The actor asked whether they realised the King’s visit clashed with the day, which would have been “insensitive to the point of insult”.
But if the visit was arranged without realising the history of the day in which Owain Glyndŵr was made Prince of Wales in 1404 “then one does wonder what being Prince of Wales was so long actually meant if you were not aware of what that day means,” he said.
He went on to quote Lily Smalls, Mrs. Beynon’s maid, from Dylan Thomas’s Under Milk Wood: “Where you get that thing from, Willy? Got it from my father, silly. Give it back then, love.’”
Watch Michael Sheen’s full speech here…
A beautiful day in Wales #OG pic.twitter.com/MSxjjte928
— michael sheen 💙 (@michaelsheen) September 16, 2022
Support our Nation today
For the price of a cup of coffee a month you can help us create an independent, not-for-profit, national news service for the people of Wales, by the people of Wales.
Iwan Rheon is correct. The title Prince of Wales is outdated and should be consigned to the historical dumpster where it belongs. We suffered Prince Charles for over 40 years. He did nothing until the UK Government & Clarence House saw the tide was turning against and told him to buy a holiday home at our expense only then hand the title over to his son William without fanfare who openly supported England against Wales at the recent World Cup. The role today exists to give the English establishment & monarchy the feeling of power over their first trophy nation..… Read more »
Regarding royals, I personally think Wales’ relationship with Westminster is the greater cause for concern. Royals play such a minor role in actual proceedings and it being a largely ceremonial role for 90% of the time – even if it’s a gross inbalance of wealth and relevance for no reason. Regarding Prince of Wales title, no royal member has come out to speak about historical nature of the role which suggests they either don’t know or don’t care. It’s obscene. Heck, change it to Prince for Wales to keep it in the royal family but show you’re working for us… Read more »
We don’t need an “English” Prince! The title is fine, Having a foreigner use it however, is not.
Exactly 💯 %
I agree we don’t need a foreign Prince of Wales, it adds insult to injury. The Royal Family and the rest of the Establishment extract much wealth from Wales in exchange for peanuts thrown back to us.