Prince of Wales has no plans for formal investiture ceremony

The Prince of Wales has no plans to stage an investiture to formally mark his new title, royal sources revealed on Tuesday.

Instead, he and the Princess will focus on gaining the trust and respect of the Welsh people over time.

As the couple arrived in Holyhead for their first visit to the country since acquiring their new titles, it emerged that William had no desire for a lavish ceremony like his father’s at Caernarfon Castle in 1969.

A Kensington Palace source did not rule out the prospect that there may not be an investiture at all, insisting that it was “not even on the table.”

The source noted that there had not always been one, adding: “The Prince and Princess will approach their new roles in the way that they have approached their other work, in their own way.”

Having promised to visit Wales at the earliest opportunity following the Queen’s death, the couple stuck to their word, travelling to Anglesey and Swansea on the first working day following the period of royal mourning.

Large crowds gathered at Holyhead Marina to greet them, welcoming them with several rounds of applause and cheers.

The Prince admitted that he would have to brush up on his Welsh, given his new title.

He told one well-wisher that he has “a couple of phrases” but added: “I'm going to have to branch out a bit.”

Among those waiting patiently was four-year-old Theo Crompton, who was plucked from the crowd to present a bouquet of pink roses to the Princess.

His mother, Rebecca Crompton, 35, said: “We were actually on the way to school when I changed my mind and decided to bring him down here for a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. And now he has just met the future king.”

The royals later headed to St Thomas’ Church in Swansea where the King had been due to visit in February but was forced to cancel due to the gales.

In a nod to the abandoned visit, the Prince was given a gift to take home for his father.

Huge crowds gathered in Swansea, where Charlotte Bunting, two, dressed in a Welsh national costume, won the Duchess’s heart, showing off her shoes and handing her various items that had been collected for a baby bank.

At the end of the visit, Charlotte gave the Princess a posy of flowers and flung her arms around her for a hug.

The couple were entertained by the St Thomas’ School Choir before meeting children who were learning about baking in a small church kitchen.

“That looks amazing,” the Prince said.

“What do you like cooking at home? Cookies, that always goes down well. I do a good breakfast, sausage, bacon and eggs.”

The couple are said to be focused solely on “deepening the trust and respect of the people of Wales” and will return on another official engagement before Christmas.

Sources said Wales had a special place in the hearts of both the Prince and Princess, who lived in Anglesey for three years after getting married.

Prince William’s first official royal engagement was in Cardiff. Aged eight, he charmed onlookers as he accompanied his parents to a service at Llandaff Cathedral.

His mother, the late Diana, Princess of Wales, later watched over him as he signed a visitors’ book at St. David’s Hall in his best handwriting.

The Prince’s decision not to hold a grand investiture marks a notable shift in tone and is indicative of the Wales’ desire for the modern monarchy to be more relatable.

The King was officially invested with the title by the Queen in an elaborate ceremony, 11 years after he was made Prince of Wales.

He spent ten weeks at Aberystwyth University learning about the Welsh language and culture in preparation for the event.

The Queen placed a coronet on her son’s head before he pledged allegiance to his mother with the words: “I, Charles, Prince of Wales do become your liege man of life and limb.”

The ceremony took place against the backdrop of a growing sense of Welsh nationalism and led to protests and years of bitterness, with the very idea of an investiture angering many to this day.

The title has long proved controversial as the last Welsh Prince of Wales, Dafydd ap Gruffydd, was killed in 1283 on the order of Edward I of England, who went on to make his 16-year-old son, Edward II, the first English Prince of Wales in 1301 with an investiture at Caernarfon Castle.

Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas,  a former speaker of the Senedd, revealed earlier this month that he had once told Prince Charles, as he was then, that he hoped there would never again be an investiture at Caernarfon Castle.

“(Prince Charles) laughed and said, ‘Do you think I want to put William through what I went through?’” he said.

The tradition of an investiture at Caernarfon Castle was revived in 1911 when George V gave the title to his son, Edward.

Before then, such a ceremony had not taken place at the castle for several hundred years.

The Prince and Princess have made clear that they will do things differently since first being given their new titles.

Prince William spoke to Mark Drakeford, the first minister of Wales, in the aftermath of the Queen's death as he and his wife prepared for their new roles.

Kensington Palace said they had told him they considered it an honour to be asked to serve the Welsh people and would “do so with humility and great respect”.

A royal source also noted that the Princess of Wales appreciated the history associated with her role but wanted to look to the future and create her own path.

Meanwhile, the King and his Queen Consort are to hold their first joint public engagements since Royal mourning ended by visiting Dunfermline, in Fife, Scotland, to mark the former town becoming a city.

Charles and Camilla, who have been staying at Balmoral, will attend an official council meeting at the City Chambers next Monday and visit Dunfermline Abbey in celebration of the metropolis' new status.

During the day the King and his wife will also host a reception at Edinburgh’s Palace of Holyroodhouse to celebrate British South Asian communities.