Over 10,000 sign petition against Prince of Wales title after it is handed to Prince William

Over 10,000 people have signed a petition opposing the continuation of the Prince of Wales title after it was handed to Prince William.

King Charles III announced that he was making William and Kate the new Prince and Princess of Wales during his first speech yesterday.

The King said he was creating his son and heir, William, Prince of Wales adding: “With Catherine beside him, our new Prince and Princess of Wales will, I know, continue to inspire and lead our national conversations, helping to bring the marginal to the centre ground where vital help can be given.”

But a petition created after the Queen’s death calling for the Royals to “end Prince of Wales title out of respect for Wales” surged to 10,000 signatures over the next 24 hours.

The petition says that since the days of the Welsh Princes the title has been “held exclusively by Englishmen as a symbol of dominance over Wales”.

“The title remains an insult to Wales and is a symbol of historical oppression and also implies that Wales is still a principality, undermining Wales’ status as a nation and a country,” the petition’s author, Trystan Gruffydd, said.

The Royal title was originally given to Edward II of Caernarfon, son of Edward I who conquered Wales, as a means of confirming that the ‘Tywysog Cymru’ title previously held by native princes of Wales was subservient to that of the King of England.

Since then it has been held by 21 different heirs to the throne, although seven of them never became king.

There have previously been long periods of history, such as between 1553 with the accession of Edward Tudor and the passing of the title to Henry Frederick Stuart 63 years later, when the title did not exist at all.

‘Democratic’

Writing on social media, First Minister Mark Drakeford responded to the news that William would be the new Prince of Wales.

“King Charles III has enjoyed a long and enduring friendship with Wales,” he said.

“Today, in his first public duty as Monarch, he has bestowed the title of Prince of Wales to his eldest son William.

“We look forward to deepening our relationship with the new Prince and Princess.”

Secretary of State Robert Buckland also responded, saying that the appointment “reminds us of [King Charles’] own long and tireless service as our Prince since 1958” and offered a “warm welcome to our new Prince and Princess of Wales”.

Plaid Cymru leader Adam Price however expressed unhappiness but said that the time to oppose would be after the period of national morning.

“There will be time, in due course, for a public debate surrounding the title of the Prince of Wales,” he 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.”