King’s plan for William revealed: ‘Don’t want that to happen again’

“Don’t want that to happen again”: The King has had a huge hand in one key decision regarding his son, it’s been revealed.

IN LONDON

It was one of the biggest questions swirling around Prince William in the wake of his grandmother’s death in September 2022.

After King Charles ascended the throne and plans for his coronation got underway, speculation began as to if and when a similar ceremony would be held to install Prince William as the Prince of Wales, in keeping with centuries of tradition.

An investiture, as it’s called, is a smaller-scale version of the coronation – effectively offering pomp and pageantry to celebrate the transition of the role. The actual title is conferred separately, via a letters patent issued by the monarch.

Keen royal fans (and viewers of The Crown) will remember the last such ceremony was that of then-Prince Charles – and it was highly controversial.

The title itself had become extremely polarising for the Welsh people in the 1960s, and so when the 20-year-old prince turned up at Caernarfon Castle in northwest Wales in 1969 for the celebration of his new position, it was marred by widespread protests and even a foiled bomb attack.

Then-Prince Charles, wearing the gold coronet of the Prince of Wales, looks on at his investiture as Prince of Wales on July 1, 1969 in Caernarvon, Wales. Picture: Anwar Hussein/Getty Images

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The hostile experience weighed on Charles, and according to Welsh journalist Huw Thomas, the author of Charles: The King and Wales, it’s a major reason William won’t be having an investiture ceremony himself.

“It was known that [Charles] didn’t enjoy that experience, it was known that he felt he was being used in this big political, theatrical moment,” he told The Sun’s Royal Exclusive show, adding that he had “[made] it known over the years” that he didn’t “want that to happen again”.

“So even though [Charles] created Prince William as Prince of Wales within 24 hours of becoming King, it was within a couple of months known, ‘actually, don’t expect any kind of ceremony – not even a small thing in an office in Cardiff’”.

Mr Thomas reiterated: “There doesn’t need to be one”.

Before he assumed the throne in September 2022, Charles was the longest-serving Prince of Wales in its more than 700-year history. However, the decision to pass the title on immediately to his eldest son, as per tradition, sparked some outrage.

The King at his May 2023 coronation. Picture: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

William was named as the Prince of Wales shortly after his father’s ascension to the throne. Picture: Yui Mok-WPA Pool/Getty Images

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A petition calling for the abolition of the title entirely was created the day the late Queen died and amassed more than 42,000 signatures.

Now, please oblige me, a quick history lesson on why the role is so controversial: it’s thought to have been established back in 1301 by the King of England, Edward I, who installed his son as the Prince of Wales to bring the country under English rule.

The tradition has existed since then (and thankfully, Welsh and English relations have dramatically improved). However, for some in modern society, the title still represents English oppression of Wales and its transfer from Charles to William therefore touched upon national sensitivities.

Despite the issues surrounding it, it’s still likely Prince George will become the next Prince of Wales.

“I’d be stunned if [the title] disappeared, only because the monarchy is built on tradition,” Mr Thomas explained.

“History tells us [the royals] stick to tradition … I’d be surprised if, in the future, William thought, ‘No, I’m going to ditch this one’”.

As far as how another investiture would go down with the public, more than 60 years after the last one: a YouGov survey conducted in late 2022 showed that while the majority of the public backed William as the new Prince of Wales (69 per cent), only 19 per cent wanted to see a similar ceremony take place this time around.