Wales, principality of

Wales, principality of. The term refers to the territorial dominion of the last Welsh princes of Wales; the estate granted to English princes of Wales after 1301; and the entire land of Wales following the Act of Union (1536). The first Welsh ruler to call himself prince of Wales (1244) was Dafydd ap Llywelyn; he was recognized by the pope and his principality was based on Gwynedd, of which his father Llywelyn ab Iorwerth had been prince. Dafydd's nephew Llywelyn ap Gruffydd (d. 1282), prince of Wales, had a more extensive principality in north, north-east, and central Wales of which he was either direct ruler or overlord; his title and principality were acknowledged by Henry III to be hereditary (1267). Llywelyn's brother Dafydd (d. 1283) claimed to be prince of Wales, but his principality was swiftly conquered by Edward I, who annexed and united it to the English crown (1284). This modified principality, which included all royal lands in north Wales (much of Llywelyn's principality) and west Wales (formerly either royal enclaves or lordships held by Llywelyn's vassals), was bestowed in 1301 on Edward I's eldest surviving son, Edward, as the first English prince of Wales. From time to time thereafter, this principality was the territorial endowment of the heir to the throne. It covered half of Wales and should ‘never be separated from the crown, but should remain entirely to the kings of England for ever’ (1301). The title of prince lapsed for periods (e.g. between the accession of Edward II in 1307 and the creation of the Black Prince as prince of Wales in 1343), few heirs who were created prince of Wales in the Middle Ages reached manhood, and some heirs apparent were not created princes of Wales. However, the principality of Wales had a continuous existence as part of the inseparable crown estate, to be periodically vested in the king's eldest son, to be governed and exploited by him.

Edward I outlined an elaborate scheme of government for the principality of Wales in the statute of Wales (1284). It was based on existing arrangements and hence had two sectors, of three counties in north Wales (Anglesey, Caernarfonshire, and Merioneth) based on Caernarfon, and of two counties in west Wales (Carmarthenshire and Cardiganshire) based on Carmarthen. Each sector had a justiciar with political and judicial competence, and a chamberlain with financial competence; each county had shire officials and great sessions; more local administrative arrangements were based on the commote with Welsh and English elements. The two sectors were frequently referred to, inaccurately, as the principality of north Wales and the principality of west (or south) Wales. Ultimately responsible to the king's court, council, and officials at Westminster, or (when there was one) to the prince's council, in practice the principality of Wales was a separate and independent jurisdiction. It was a development of Llywelyn's principality, rather than a clear break with it, and it was larger than Llywelyn's in some respects, in others smaller than his: Flintshire, though a royal shire, was attached for administrative convenience to Cheshire and lay outside the principality of Wales; the English princes were overlords of several marcher lordships in the north-east which had been part of Llywelyn's principality.

The council of Edward IV's eldest son began to undertake responsibility for order not only in the principality but also (by 1476) in the marcher lordships and border English shires and so had a Wales-wide authority (as the Council in the March) that was the germ of the arrangements made by the Act of Union (1536). These arrangements consolidated Wales administratively and constitutionally by extending the machinery of government of the principality of Wales to Wales as a whole, including Flintshire and the March. Thus, the ‘country and dominion of Wales’ became conterminous with the principality of Wales, and was so regarded from the 16th cent. onwards. This principality retained peculiar features of law and justice, with separate courts albeit dispensing English common law, until, first, the Council of Wales and the March was abolished as a prerogative court in 1689 and, second, the great sessions were abolished in 1830 and the judicial system assimilated to that of England. The revenues from rights of jurisdiction and lands continued to accrue to the crown and could be granted to individual princes of Wales by special Act of Parliament—though not all princes were granted them. In 1760 they were surrendered by George III along with the crown's hereditary revenues in return for a ‘civil list’; thereafter, no principality lands or financial rights could be bestowed on a prince (in contrast to the duchy of Cornwall).

Yet the concept of the principality of Wales within the United Kingdom survived, largely because of the distinctive culture, language, and sense of identity of the Welsh. Although in modern times prior to the 20th cent. princes of Wales visited their principality rarely, both prince and principality were a focus of Welsh sentiment. The investiture of Prince Edward (later Edward VIII; 1911) took place in an atmosphere of national euphoria, during a picturesque ceremony held at Caernarfon castle in deference to spurious tradition; that of Prince Charles (1969), though more controversial, was enthusiastically welcomed by most Welsh people.

Ralph Alan Griffiths

Bibliography

Edwards, J. G. , The Principality of Wales, 1267–1967 (Caernarfon, 1969);
Griffiths, R. A. , The Principality of Wales in the Later Middle Ages, i: South Wales, 1277–1536 (Cardiff, 1972);
Jones, F. , The Princes and Principality of Wales (Cardiff, 1969).