Prince of Wales soil and speaking no other language"). William Camden wrote in his 1607 work "Britannia" that originally the title "Prince of Wales" was not conferred automatically upon the eldest living son of the King of England because Edward II (who had been the first English Prince of Wales) neglected to invest his eldest son, the future Edward III, with that title. It was Edward III who revived the practice of naming the eldest son Prince of Wales, which was then maintained by his successors: Nevertheless, according to conventional wisdom, since 1301 the Prince of Wales has usually been the eldest living
HMS Prince of Wales (1902) of Wales", named after the title conferred upon the eldest son of the monarch, was the fifth ship of her name to serve in the Royal Navy. The ship was laid down at Chatham Dockyard on 20 March 1901, the first keel plate laid by Lady Wharton, wife of Rear-Admiral Sir William Wharton, Hydrographer to the Admiralty. She was launched by the Princess of Wales (later Queen Mary) on 25 March 1902, in the presence of the Prince of Wales (later King George V), for whom the ship was named. Upon completion in March 1904, HMS "Prince of Wales" immediately