‘As they rode along, a bomb exploded in a nearby field...’
The political legacy of the Investiture:
MORE than 50 years ago, a ceremonial event which took place in the grounds of a ruined castle in north Wales was accused of being the centrepiece of a blatantly political campaign to roll back Welsh nationalism and reaffirm the nation’s loyalty to the Union.
Half a century later, our opinion poll has confirmed that the people of Wales retain an appetite for the Royal Family and would happily see a repeat of the investiture that saw Prince Charles created Prince of Wales at Caernarfon in 1969.
The resilience of support for the Royal Family is a painful reminder to those on social media who proclaim the imminent foundation of an independent Welsh republic that achieving a political goal is immensely more challenging than sending a stream of tweets from an iPhone.
Since Edward I conquered Wales in 1282, the heir apparent to the monarch has usually been designated the Prince of Wales, but there hasn’t always been an investiture ceremony of the kind that took place in Caernarfon Castle.
In fact, the practice was revived in 1911 after centuries of disuse at the instigation of the future Prime Minister David Lloyd George.
On that occasion the title was conferred on the future Edward VIII, who abdicated less than a year after becoming King in 1936.
In 1969, when the next investiture occurred, Wales appeared to be at a political crossroads.
Three years earlier Gwynfor Evans had become Plaid Cymru’s first MP after taking Carmarthen from Labour at a by-election.
Plaid had a couple more nearmisses in Valleys seats where Labour had previously enjoyed massive majorities.
There was concern within Labour ranks that Plaid could make serious advances.
George Thomas became the Secretary of State for Wales in 1968 and decided that an investiture would be a useful tool to counter Plaid’s appeal and bolster the Union.
Thomas took charge of the Investiture Committee which had been established by his predecessor Cledwyn Hughes.
While the nationalists of Plaid and others more militant were bitterly opposed to the investiture, Thomas was shrewd enough to realise that the majority in Wales were not opposed to the Royal Family and did not share the antagonism towards them shown by those who didn’t want the event to go ahead.
Thomas was getting abusive mail which included death threats.
When he went to Caernarfon Castle two days before the investiture was due to take place to see how preparations were going, two young men leaned in through the open window of his car and spat: “Bradwyr – Traitor” at him.
On investiture day, the royal train – due to arrive at a specially built station two miles outside Caernarfon – was delayed for two hours after signalling wires were cut at Crewe. Two men had blown themselves up trying to put a bomb on the railway line.
Thomas rode in a horse-drawn coach with the Prince at the head of the procession, and was surprised to be told it had been used by Queen Victoria. “I hope she was more comfortable than I am,” he said.
As they rode along a bomb exploded in a nearby field. Asked by the Prince what the noise was, Thomas said it was a royal salute. When the Prince said it was a peculiar royal salute, Thomas responded: “There are peculiar people up here, Prince Charles.”
The investiture was considered by those who organised it to be a success and Thomas considered that he had won the propaganda war.
In his memoirs Thomas couldn’t resist a broadside at Gwynfor Evans, who had refused an invitation to the investiture on principle, but after the Prince’s popularity had become evident had queued to be presented to Charles when he visited Carmarthen on a triumphant tour of Wales.
Evans had been encouraged to change his stance by his agent, who panicked when he saw how popular the Investiture was. For Thomas, this was an act of humbug which did not go down well with the public. At the following year’s general election, Evans lost his seat.
The political situation today is greatly different.
Wales has had a devolved Assembly – now Parliament – for more than 20 years, and the institution’s future is secure.
This year’s Senedd election showed there was no appetite to abolish it, with those who advocated
such a course of action losing their seats.
But for the first time since devolution, there is a Government in Westminster that seems determined to roll back the Senedd’s powers as part of a post-Brexit centralising agenda aimed at promoting the concept of “Global Britain”.
Given the enduring popularity of the Royal Family, could Boris Johnson’s Government be willing to use an investiture as a political tool to entrench support for the Union?
There is, of course, no vacancy for a Prince of Wales.
The Queen could survive for years and Mr Johnson may well be out of office before Prince Charles finally ascends the throne.
Perhaps more pertinently, the degree of support for an investiture shown by our poll results points up the difficulty faced by Plaid Cymru and those who advocate an independent Wales.
Is it likely that people who don’t just want Prince William to become the next Prince of Wales, but to do so in a very public ceremony of a kind that previously has been highly controversial, would vote for an independent Wales?
Plaid elder statesman Lord Dafydd Wigley isn’t convinced that the two positions are necessarily incompatible .
He said: “Plaid is not a party that has ever opposed a constitutional monarchy. It campaigns for an independent state within the Commonwealth, which is headed by the Queen.”
As for the prospect of an investiture, Lord Wigley said: “There needs to be very careful thought given to this.
“What Wales does not need is the kind of division that was created by the investiture in 1969.
“There’s no doubt that George Thomas used the investiture for political reasons, and in doing so created a divided nation that took years to heal.
“All points of view need to be taken into account when deciding what to do, and to reach a manageable outcome.”
Blaenau Gwent Labour MS Alun Davies was also concerned that the Royal Family should not be dragged into politics.
“Recently the UK Government was trying to use Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge to bolster the Union in Scotland. I think that’s wholly wrong.
“I could well imagine it trying to do the same in Wales.
“This shouldn’t be happening. I think most people understand that we have a constitutional monarchy and that the system works when members of the Royal Family keep out of politics.
“There is certainly a great deal of support for the Royal Family in Wales.
“My view is that the Prince of Wales should have a bigger role and a closer relationship with the Senedd.
“At present we see him only once every four or five years. I’d like to see more in the future, with the Prince and Princess of Wales making regular visits and forging a closer relationship.”
For Jeff Jones, a former Labour leader of Bridgend council, the result of our poll should be taken as a reality check by those who campaign for Welsh independence.
He said: “It’s easy to get excited on Twitter and convince yourself that independence is getting closer because the people you’re communicating with agree with you.
“It doesn’t surprise me that 61% of people want to see an investiture.
“I’m philosophically a republican, but I can understand the attraction of Prince William and his wife. He comes across as a decent bloke. What’s not to like?
“The Queen, who has recently been widowed, is seen by most people as having devoted her life to public service, and she’s still going in her 90s.
“If you listen to those who campaign for independence, there’s an inevitability to what’s going to happen.
“Scotland will vote for independence in a second referendum and then Wales will follow suit shortly afterwards.
“There’s an unspoken assumption that Wales will vote for independence on Thursday and on Saturday will be in the EU. Things don’t work like that.
“Even if Wales did vote for independence, it would probably take another 10 years before it was in the EU. That’s a hell of a long time to wait.
“And it’s by no means certain that Scotland would vote Yes. At the moment, the likelihood is that there would be a No vote – and if that happened, everything would fall apart.
“This poll shows the level of entrenched support for the Royal Family, and by extension for the Union.
“How do you persuade the 61% who want an investiture to support independence?
“I like a lot of people in Plaid personally, because they tend to be intelligent.
“But they are unrealistic and don’t see the gap between where they want Wales to be and the reality of where it is.
“I don’t expect to see Welsh independence in my lifetime, but I’ve always thought it was most likely to happen if England kicked us out.”