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
Wales in the Late Middle Ages the conquest.Most of the Marcher Lords were by now Cambro Norman i.e. Norman Welsh through intermarriage. King Edward I built a ring of impressive stone castles to consolidate his domination of Wales, and crowned his conquest by giving the title Prince of Wales to his son and heir in 1301. Wales became, effectively, part of England, even though its people spoke a different language and had a different culture. English kings paid lip service to their responsibilities by appointing a Council of Wales, sometimes presided over by the heir to the throne. This Council normally sat in Ludlow, now in