Prince of Wales (Welsh: Tywysog Cymru) is a title traditionally granted to the Heir Apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom (and formerly the Kingdom of Great Britain and before that the Kingdom of England). The current Prince of Wales is Prince Charles, the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II.

The Prince of Wales currently has no formal role or responsibility that has been legislated by Parliament or otherwise delegated by the Monarchy. Prince Charles, as the 21st holder of the title has created the following three roles for himself:^[1]

1. Undertaking royal duties in support of The Queen
2. Working as a charitable entrepreneur
3. Promoting and protecting nationalisation, virtues and excellence.

For most of the post-Roman period, Wales was divided into several smaller states. Prior to the Norman conquest of England, the most powerful Welsh ruler at any given time was generally known as King of the Britons. In the 12th century and the 13th century, this title evolved into that of Prince of Wales. In Latin, the new title was "Princeps Wallie", while in Welsh it was "Tywysog Cymru". The literal translation of "Tywysog" is "Leader" (The verb tywys means to lead, which shares a common root with the modern Irish for prime minister, the Taoiseach).

Only a handful of native princes had their claim to be Prince of Wales recognized by the English Crown. In 1218, Llywelyn the Great had the title bestowed upon him and his successors by his half-brother-in-law, the 11-year old Henry III. In 1240, the title was inherited by his son Dafydd ap Llywelyn and, in 1246, by his nephew Llywelyn the Last (or Llywelyn ap Gruffydd). In 1282, Llywelyn was 'deposed' by Edward I of England and the Prince of Wales title became dormant.

Although Llywelyn ap Gruffydd was the last native Prince of Wales recognized by the English Crown, it is Owain Glyndŵr whom many Welsh people regard as being the last native Prince. On September 16 1400, he was proclaimed Prince of Wales by his supporters and it was not until 1409 that his revolt in quest of Welsh independence was suppressed by Henry IV.

The tradition of investing the heir of the monarch of Britain with the title of "Prince of Wales" began in 1301, when King Edward I of England, having completed the conquest of Wales, gave the title to his heir, Prince Edward (later King Edward II of England).

According to a famous legend, the king had promised the rebellious Welsh natives that he would name "a prince born in Wales, who did not speak a word of English" and then produced his infant son to their surprise (and presumable chagrin). However, the story may well be apocryphal, as it can only be traced to the 16th century, and, in the time of Edward I, the English aristocracy spoke Norman French, not English. However, Edward II certainly was born at Caernarfon while his father was campaigning in Wales, and like all infants, could not at the time speak English.

Since 1301, the Prince of Wales has usually been the eldest living son of the King or Queen Regnant of England (subsequently of Great Britain, 1707, and of the United Kingdom, 1801). The word "living" is important. Following the death of Prince Arthur, the Prince of Wales, Henry VII invested his second son, the future Henry VIII, with the title--although only after it was clear that Arthur's wife, Catherine of Aragon, was not pregnant. The title is not automatic; it merges into the Crown when a prince accedes to the throne, or lapses on his death leaving the sovereign free to re-grant it should another candidate qualify, such as an heir-apparent other than the eldest living son, such as that deceased eldest son's eldest son (for example, George III).

The Principality of Wales, nowadays, is always conferred along with the Earldom of Chester. The convention began in 1399; all previous Princes of Wales also received the earldom, but separately from the Principality. Indeed, before 1272 a hereditary and not necessarily royal Earldom of Chester had already been created several times, eventually merging in the crown each time. The earldom was recreated, merging in the Crown in 1307 and again in 1327. Its creations since have been associated with the creations of the Principality of Wales.

As heir apparent to the reigning sovereign, the Prince of Wales bears the Royal Arms differenced by a white label of an appropriate number of points. Normally this is three points, like any eldest son, but could be five in the case of the Prince of Wales being grandson of the sovereign (as with George II and the future George III). To represent Wales he bears the Coat of Arms of the Principality of Wales, crowned with the heir-apparent's crown, on an inescutcheon-en-surtout.

He has a badge of three ostrich feathers (which can be seen on the British Two Pence coin); it dates back to the Black Prince and is his as the English heir even before he is made Prince of Wales.

In addition to these symbols used most frequently, he has a special standard for use in Wales itself. Moreover, as Duke of Rothesay he has a special coat of arms for use in Scotland (and a corresponding standard); as Duke of Cornwall the like for use in the Duchy of Cornwall. Representations of all three may be found at List of British flags.

For theories about the origin of the ostrich feather badge and of the motto "Ich dien", see Edward, the Black Prince.

The Principality of Wales and Earldom of Chester must be created, and are not automatically acquired like the Dukedoms of Cornwall and Rothesay, which are the Heir Apparent's titles in England and Scotland, respectively (note: the heir apparent is only Duke of Cornwall if he is the sovereign's eldest living son, see Duke of Cornwall for more details). The dignities are not hereditary, but may be re-created if the Prince of Wales predeceases the King. For example, when Prince Frederick, Prince of Wales predeceased King George II, his eldest son, Prince George (the future George III) was created Prince of Wales.

Princes of Wales may be invested, but investiture is not necessary to be created Prince of Wales. Peers were also invested, but investitures for peers ceased in 1621, during a time when peerages were being created so frequently that the investiture ceremony became cumbersome. Most investitures for Princes of Wales were held in front of Parliament, but in 1911, the future Edward VIII was invested in Caernarvon Castle in Wales. The present Prince of Wales was also invested there, in 1969. During the reading of the letters patent creating the Prince, the Honours of the Principality of Wales are delivered to the Prince. The coronet of the heir-apparent bears four-crosses pattée alternating with four fleurs-de-lis, surmounted by a single arch (the Sovereign's crowns are of the same design, but use two arches). A gold rod is also used in the insignia; gold rods were formally used in the investitures of dukes, but survive now in the investitures of Princes of Wales only. Also part of the insignia are a ring, a sword and a robe.

The title Prince of Wales is given only to the heir apparent—that is, a male who cannot be displaced in the succession to the throne by any future birth. This would be the eldest son of the monarch, or, if he is deceased, his eldest son, and so on, or if the monarch's son has died without issue, the monarch's second eldest son, etc.

A daughter or sibling of the sovereign who is currently next in line to the throne is not the "heir apparent" because they would be displaced in the succession by any future legitimate son of the sovereign: they are instead the "heir presumptive" and cannot therefore take the title of Prince of Wales (or Princess in their own right).

Picture	Name	Heir of	Birth	Became Prince of Wales	Ceased to be Prince of Wales	Death	Other titles while Prince of Wales	Regnal Name	Princess of Wales
	Llywelyn ab Iorwerth	N/A father was Iorwerth ab Owain Gwynedd	c.1173	1218	April 11 1240		Prince of Gwynedd, Prince of Southern Powys	N/A	Joan
	Dafydd ap Llywelyn	N/A father was Llywelyn ab Iorwerth	c. 1208	11 April 1240	February 25 1246		Prince of Gwynedd, Prince of Southern Powys	N/A	Isabella de Braose
	Llywelyn ap Gruffydd	N/A father was Gruffydd ap Llywelyn	c.1223	February 25 1246	December 11 1282 killed in battle, Wales conquered by English		Prince of Gwynedd	N/A	Eleanor de Montfort
Picture	Name	Heir of	Birth	Became Prince of Wales	Ceased to be Prince of Wales	Death	Other titles while Prince of Wales	Regnal Name	Princess of Wales

Picture	Name	Heir of	Birth	Became Prince of Wales	Ceased to be Prince of Wales	Death	Other titles while Prince of Wales	Regnal Name	Princess of Wales
	Edward of Caernarfon	Edward I	25 April 1284	February 7 1301	July 7 1307 Acceded to English throne	September 21 1327	Count of Ponthieu, Earl of Chester	Edward II	–
	Edward of Woodstock, the Black Prince	Edward III	June 15 1330	12 May 1343[2]	June 8 1376		Earl of Chester, Duke of Cornwall	–	Joan of Kent
	Richard of Bordeaux	Edward III	January 6 1367	November 20 1376[2]	June 22 1377 became King	February 14 1400	Duke of Cornwall, Earl of Chester	Richard II	–
	Henry of Monmouth	Henry IV	September 16 1387	October 15 1399[2]	March 21 1413 became King	August 31 1422	Duke of Lancaster, Duke of Cornwall, Earl of Chester	Henry V	–
Picture	Name	Heir of	Birth	Became Prince of Wales	Ceased to be Prince of Wales	Death	Other titles while Prince of Wales	Regnal Name	Princess of Wales

Picture	Name	Heir of	Birth	Became Prince of Wales	Ceased to be Prince of Wales	Death	Other titles while Prince of Wales	Regnal Name	Princess of Wales
	Edward of Westminster	Henry VI	October 13 1453	March 15 1454[2]	May 4 1471		Duke of Cornwall, Earl of Chester	–	Anne Neville
	Edward of the Sanctuary	Edward IV	November 4 1470	June 26 1471[2]	April 9 1483 became King	1483?	Duke of Cornwall, Earl of Chester	Edward V	–
	Edward of Middleham	Richard III	1473	August 24 1483[2]	April 9 1484		Duke of Cornwall, Earl of Chester, Earl of Salisbury	–	–
	Arthur	Henry VII	September 20 1486	November 29 1489	April 2 1502		Duke of Cornwall, Earl of Chester	–	Catherine of Aragon
	Henry	Henry VII	June 28 1491	February 18 1504[2]	April 22 1509 became King	January 28 1547	Duke of Cornwall, Earl of Chester	Henry VIII	–
	Edward	Henry VIII	October 12 1537	October 1537	January 28 1547 became King	July 6 1553	Duke of Cornwall, Earl of Chester	Edward VI	–
File:Henry Frederick Stuart-Prince of Wales.jpg	Henry Frederick	James I	February 19 1594	June 4 1610[2]	November 6 1612		Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Chester, Earl of Carrick	–	–
	Charles	James I	November 19 1600	November 4 1616[2]	March 27 1625 became King	January 30 1649	Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Chester, Earl of Carrick	Charles I	–
	Charles	Charles I	May 29 1630	declared c. 1638-1641[2]	January 30 1649 became King/title abolished	February 6 1685	Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Chester, Earl of Carrick	Charles II	–
	James Francis Edward Stuart	James II	June 10 1688	c. July 4 1688[2]	December 11 1688 Father deposed	January 1 1766	Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Chester, Earl of Carrick	–	–

Picture	Name	Heir of	Birth	Became Prince of Wales	Ceased to be Prince of Wales	Death	Other titles while Prince of Wales	Regnal Name	Princess of Wales
File:KING GEORGE II.jpg	George	George I	November 10 1683	September 27 1714	June 11 1727 became King	October 25 1760	Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Chester, Earl of Carrick	George II	Caroline of Ansbach
	Frederick	George II	February 1 1707	January 8 1729[2]	March 31 1751		Duke of Edinburgh, Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Chester, Earl of Carrick	–	Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha
	George	George II	June 4 1738	April 20 1751	October 25 1760 became King	January 29 1820	Duke of Edinburgh, Earl of Chester	George III	–
	George	George III	August 12 1762	August 19 1762[2]	January 29 1820 became King	June 26 1830	Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Chester, Earl of Carrick	George IV	Caroline of Brunswick
	Albert Edward	Victoria	November 9 1841	December 8 1841	January 22 1901 became King	May 6 1910	Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Chester, Earl of Carrick, Earl of Dublin	Edward VII	Alexandra of Denmark
	George	Edward VII	June 3 1865	November 9 1901	May 6 1910 became King	January 20 1936	Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Duke of York, Earl of Chester, Earl of Carrick	George V	Mary of Teck
	Edward	George V	June 23 1894	June 23 1910	January 20 1936 became King	May 28 1972	Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Chester, Earl of Carrick	Edward VIII	–
	Charles	Elizabeth II	November 14 1948	July 26 1958	Incumbent		Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay, Earl of Chester, Earl of Carrick	N/A	Lady Diana Spencer; Camilla Shand (latter does not use title "Princess of Wales")
Picture	Name	Heir of	Birth	Became Prince of Wales	Ceased to be Prince of Wales	Death	Other titles while Prince of Wales	Regnal Name	Princess of Wales

• List of rulers of Wales
• Kings of the Britons
• Princess of Wales
• Duke of Cornwall
• Duke of Rothesay
• List of heirs to the English and British thrones
• Prince of Wales tea blend
• Ships of the Royal Navy named HMS Prince of Wales.
• Prince of Wales, convict transport ship on First Fleet to Australia.
• Prince of Wales Bridge, Ontario, Canada
• Prince of Wales Secondary

• The Prince of Wales (official website)
• Monarchy Wales - leading campaign organisation
• The Prince's Official Canadian Visit (2001)
• "Saskatchewan Honours Future King" (2001)
• The Straight Dope: How can I become Prince of Wales?
• The Royal Family Tree of Europe
• Portrait of The Prince of Wales by David Griffiths
• Painting & Patronage