Investiture of the Prince of Wales The tradition of investing the heir apparent of the English, and subsequently the British, monarch 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 apparent, Prince Edward (later King Edward II of England). Investiture is not necessary to be created Prince of Wales. Peers were also invested, but investitures for peers ceased in 1621, at a time when peerages were being created so frequently that the investiture ceremonies became cumbersome. Most investitures for Princes of Wales were held in front of
Prince of Wales Drive, London Drive, which was previously known as Prince of Wales Road, was part of Battersea Fields. The original idea was for Battersea Park to be surrounded by middle-class villas, as seen in other contemporary parks in Britain. Land was allocated for building, but nothing was built for about 30 years. One villa, Carlton Lodge, was built in 1884. In the 1890s Cyril Flower, 1st Baron Battersea, began to acquire vacant land on the south side of Prince of Wales Drive from the Commissioners for Development. His first mansion block to be developed along Prince of Wales Drive was Overstrand Mansions, which