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William should learn Welsh in order to win the country over before becoming Prince of Wales says Times columnist

01 Mar 2022 3 minute read
Prince William. By Frankie Fouganthin (CC 4.0)

Prince William should learn Welsh in order to overcome political opposition to his taking the title of Prince of Wales after Charles becomes King, a Times columnist has advised.

Theo Davies-Lewis said that it was clear that William and Kate were being prepared to become the new Prince and Princess of Wales but that any Royal event to mark this would “will be overshadowed by protests”.

“An obvious missed opportunity has been with Cymraeg,” he said. “Months-long lessons for royals have amounted to the odd spattering at a public event. To have a Prince of Wales who speaks better French remains offensive.

“The duke has time to brush up on his Welsh and would do well to encourage his own heir to learn the language, a move that would be a revolutionary step to secure affection for the royal family.”

Theo Davies-Lewis, who is also the chief political commentator for The National Wales, said that such a move was necessary because “nationalists continue to dominate Welsh civic society”.

“The Cambridges will become the Waleses,” he added. “But for how long is uncertain. Without careful consideration of Welsh identity and the need to again reinvent the role of Prince of Wales, long-aching nationalists may win the argument after all.”

‘Born in Wales’

Prince William and Kate will be visiting Wales today to mark St David’s Day.

The royal couple will visit Abergavenny and Blaenavon and their first visit will be to Pant Farm, a goat farm, before visiting Abergavenny Market.

They will also be visiting the Blaenavon Hwb, a community-focused youth centre that helps to support more than 600 young people in the local area.

The visit has been interpreted as an attempt to prepare the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge for their future expected roles as Prince and Princess of Wales.

The Prince of Wales title’s use by the British monarchy stems from King Edward I’s conquest of Wales in the 13th Century.

Seen as an attempt to undermine the title of Prince of Wales and make it subordinate to that of the English King, Edward I gave it to his son Edward II who was born at Caernarfon Castle, having promised the Welsh nobility as a prince “that was born in Wales and could speak never a word of English”.

Prince Charles was given the title by the Queen in 1958 and invested at Caernarfon Castle in 1969.

Charles prepared for his investiture by learning some Welsh, a story that returned to national prominence recently after being featured on the Crown Netflix series.


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Adrian Meagher
Adrian Meagher
2 years ago

Didn”t William live on Ynys Môn for some years? Did he not learn Cymraeg then?

Ed Jones
Ed Jones
2 years ago
Reply to  Adrian Meagher

Nope, not a word, though I gather seeing ARAF on the roads vexed him plenty!

Karen Lewis
Karen Lewis
2 years ago
Reply to  Adrian Meagher

Oh please. There’s so many English live there it’s a wonder he met any Welsh people let alone Welsh speakers.

Dean Thomas
Dean Thomas
2 years ago

A statement from William Windsor-Cambridge saying that he had no intention whatsoever of taking a title that has dark connotations and exemplifies colonialism would be a starter. If he wants respect in his royal roles, and eventually as King of England, then he should start with this gesture. An independent Welsh republic could then accomodate him – as the Irish Republic has – as a good neighbour, and a healthy relationship can emerge.

hdavies15
hdavies15
2 years ago
Reply to  Dean Thomas

He can learn Welsh by all means but if that’s done as a part of a P.R campaign ahead of him becoming PoW then he can shove off and learn Ancient Greek or Latin instead.

Jeff Williams
Jeff Williams
2 years ago
Reply to  hdavies15

Virtually everything the royals do is about PR and trying to show us how much they care and how hard they work. Smoke and mirrors!

robin campbell
robin campbell
2 years ago
Reply to  Dean Thomas

Well said

R W
R W
2 years ago

Yes of course, and if Vladimir Putin learned to speak Welsh, we’d all become huge admirers of his as well!! 😂😂

Elvey MacDonald
Elvey MacDonald
2 years ago

Was Theo sober when he wrote this article?

Ann
Ann
2 years ago

Well Carlo’s efforts didn’t help him much did they? So why should William even try?

Ed Jones
Ed Jones
2 years ago

He is not Welsh, he will never be considered to be my Prince, nor indeed is his father – I have nothing against either, per se, it’s just time for this colonial nonsense to end and for Britain to grow up!

GW Atkinson
GW Atkinson
2 years ago

Yes, that will definitely turn me into an a-hole licking royalist sycophant. What the hell do they take us for?

Cai Wogan Jones
Cai Wogan Jones
2 years ago

Taking a primer in Welsh history might be a good start. Then he would understand the origins of the POW title and circumstances in which it was arrogated by the English monarchy.

I would have some respect for this gentleman from Berkshire if he accepted the offence that the title represents for so many Welsh people, and agreed not to continue this demonstration of English conquest triumphalism.

If the government in London could return the Stone of Scone to the Scots (also appropriated by Edward Longshanks), surely they can relinquish the POW title …

Grayham Jones
2 years ago

Not in wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 no English royals in wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Dai Rob
Dai Rob
2 years ago
Reply to  Grayham Jones

A somewhat muted response from you there Graham! You ok hun?

Steve Duggan
Steve Duggan
2 years ago

The Royal family and Westminster will try and force William onto us once the Queen dies regardless of our objections. Good ! hopefully it will finally make the Welsh public wake up and see that we are a conquered nation and have been since Edward I. Our younger generation are not as Unionist as they were in the later 60s (and even then there were mass demonstrations) – so expect thousands and thousands of people marching to the tune of – NO ! We do not want another English prince imposed upon us!

Last edited 2 years ago by Steve Duggan
Glyn Jones
Glyn Jones
2 years ago

Wylit, wylit Lywelyn,
Wylit waed pe welit hyn,
Ein calon gan estron ŵr
Ein coron gan goncwerwr…

Marc
Marc
2 years ago

This is not 1969 we don’t want a ‘Prince of Wales’ we want independence

Jeff33
Jeff33
2 years ago

Why bother? Just abandon the practice of forcing a royal on us.

Sioned ac Arfon Gwilym
Sioned ac Arfon Gwilym
2 years ago

This article Is a whole month too early. Good grief.

iaun williams
iaun williams
1 year ago

oh , so learn a few words of welsh , kiss a baby wear a daffodil and thats ok now your Prince of Wales. Give me a break !

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