Queen Invests Charles as Prince of Wales / NYT

The New York Times, Wednesday, July 2, 1969

He Gets an Ovation From Throng As Crown Is Placed on His Head

Queen Invests Charles as Prince of Wales Amid Royal Pageantry at Caernarvon

4,000 Witness Fealty Fite — Later, Fire Kills a Soldier

By GLORIA EMERSON

Special to The New York Times

CAERNARVON, Wales, July 1 — Charles Philip Arthur George was invested today as Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester by his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in a ceremony rich in tradition and pageantry.

Gulls wheeled in a gray sky over the massive walls of ancient Caernarvon Castle during the 60-minute bilingual ceremony, which had its origins in the 13th century. Four thousand guests and millions on television all over the world watched the 20-year-old Prince kneel before the Queen, place his hands between hers and repeat the ancient oath:

“I Charles, Prince of Wales, do become your liege man of life and limb and of earthly worship, and faith and truth I will bear unto you to live and die against all manner of folks.” 

2,500 Policemen on Duty

There were two minor incidents just before the ceremony. A youth hit the Queen’s carriage with an egg and an explosive went off on a railway siding on the town’s outskirts near empty trains that had borne distinguished visitors.

And hours later a light truck, believed to be an army vehicle, was destroyed by a gasoline fire at the slate quay, only yards from where the investiture took place. The driver, a young soldier, died in a hospital.

A senior fire department officer said that the fire looked like an accident, but a police spokesman did not rule out the possibility of sabotage by < Page 6 > nationalist extremists. The area was sealed off and detectives were rushed to the scene.

More than 2,500 policemen were on duty after a night during which two men carrying a bomb were killed when it went off, an incident believed to be connected with Welsh nationalist extremism. There has been criticism of the ceremony here among those who want independence or more autonomy, for Wales, which was incorporated into the realm of England in 1536.

The 21st Prince of Wales, who until today had never worn a crown, received a standing ovation from the guests as the Queen placed on his head the golden coronet of office, encrusted with 75 diamonds and 12 rubies — especially made for the occasion and trimmed with ermine and velvet — and gave him a rod of office, a ring, a sword and an ermine and velvet mantle.

Twice during the solemn ceremony he grinned at his father, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who wore a field marshal’s uniform.

The nervousness of the Prince of Wales did not show until after the ceremony, as he walked with his mother and father to a small balcony of the castle to greet the crowds below.

His face looked tense and pale, and he spoke to his mother in a low urgent voice. The Queen seemed to remind her eldest son, who is heir to the throne, to keep raised the golden rod symbolizing his new title.

The Queen, in a yellow costume and hat, never opened the bright yellow parasol she carried. She and Prince Philip were seated on a circular gray dais surrounded by green lawns inside the hourglass-shaped castle when the ceremony began.

The Queen’s throne was made of dark gray slabs of Welsh slate and bore brilliant orange cushions. The royal dais for the $500,000 ceremony— the entire setting was designed by the Earl of Snowdon, Princess Margaret’s husband—looked like a stage for a theater in the round. It was covered with a huge, upward-curved canopy of clear acrylic sheets with cemented joints as a precaution against rain. The canopy had been tested in a wind tunnel.

On it were painted the three feathers of the crest of the Prince of Wales and the motto “Ich dien” — Old German for “I serve” — believed to have been adopted in 1346 by the second Prince of Wales, the son of Edward III, called the Black Prince because of his dark-hued armor. The: same crest and motto were on the back of the orange-stained timber chairs for the guests.

Giant white nylon banners showing red Welsh dragons and heraldic shields gave an air of gaiety to the medieval castle’s walls. As the weather worsened they fluttered and thumped in the wind.

A light rain fell half-way through the investiture, but no one bolted. The guests — many of the men in dress uniforms or morning coats and striped trousers and the women in the flowered hats that seem to bloom eternally on these damp isles — had paid as much  at £ 10 ($24) for a seat inside the castle walls.

The Prince, whose other titles are Prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay, Earl of Carrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles and Great Steward of Scotland, wore a scarlet belt and a bright blue sash on the blue uniform of the Royal Regiment of Wales, of which he is colonel in chief. He arrived in an open carriage with a Household Cavalry escort and was accompanied by his equerry, Squadron Leader David Checketts. and the Secretary of State for Wales, George Thomas.

The ceremony began with the queen’s commanding the Earl Marshal, the Duke of Norfolk, who planned and arranged the investiture, to direct the Garter Knight of Arms, Sir Anthony Wagner, to summon the Prince.

In the procession that conducted him to the dais were five Welsh peers bearing the symbols of his principality and earldom of chester.

The bareheaded Prince approached the throne and, after making three separate bows, kneeled upon a cushioned stool before the Queen. He remained kneeling for more than 15 minutes, occasionally moving his head slightly to peek at the crowds.

Harlech Bears Mantle

One of the peers was Lord Harlech, who as British Ambassador to the United States from 1961 to 1965 was Sir David Ormsby Gore. He carried the ankle-length mantle, with a Prince of Wales feather motif in gold braid edging it.

The Earl Lloyd George of Dwyfor, a grandson of the Prime Minister, bore the sword.

Lord Ogmore, president of the Welsh Liberal party, carried the coronet.

The ring, a single amethyst held by two interlaced Welsh dragons and symbolizing marriage to Wales, was borne by Lord Maelor, a former Labor Member of Parliament from Wales.

The Home Secretary, James Callaghan, read the English version of the letters patent, a proclamation issued in the Queen’s name, which said:

“Wo do ennoble and invest with the said principality and earldom by girting him with a sword, by putting a coronet on his head and a gold ring on his finger, and also by delivering a gold rod into his hand that he may preside there and may direct and defend these parts.”

While Mr. Thomas read the Welsh text, the Queen invested the Prince.

Raising him up, the Queen gave him the kiss of fealty on his left cheek and presented him with the letters patent. The Prince then joined his parents on the dais.

Sir Ben Bowen Thomas, president of the University College of Wales in Aberystwyth, where the Prince recently terminated an eight-week crash course in Welsh, gave the “loyal address” from the people of Wales.

“I Am Determined . . .”

Charles, in his calm and warm voice — considered one of his most lovable assets by young women — the Prince briefly expressed his gratitude, first in Welsh, then in English. He spoke of changing social conditions and how the demands on the Prince of Wales have altered.

“I am determined to live up to the demands,” he declared.

His audience showed its pleasure with waves of applause.

Prime Minister Wilson and his wife, the United States Ambassador and Mrs. Walter H. Annenberg and former Vice President Hubert M. Humphrey were present. Tricia Nixon, 23-year-old daughter of the President, sat in front of President William V. S. Tubman of Liberia. Eighty-three ambassadors were on hand.

The Prince leaves tomorrow for a four-day tour of Wales.

Text of Prince’s Speech

CAERNARVON. Wales, July 1 [AP] — Following is the text of a speech by Prince Charles today after his investiture as Prince of Wales. The speech, during the course of which the Prince replied to the “loyal address” by Sir Ben Bowen Thomas, president of the University College of Wales, was delivered partly in Welsh.

(From the Welsh)

The words of your address have certainly touched me deeply and I can assure you that I have taken note of the hopes expressed in them.

It is indeed my firm intention to associate myself in word and deed with as much of the life of the principality as possible. And what a principality!

It is with a certain sense of pride and emotion that I have received these symbols of office here in this magnificent fortress, where no one could fail to bo stirred by its atmosphere of timeworn grandeur, nor where I myself could be unaware of the long history of Wales in its determination to remain individual and to guard its own particular heritage — a heritage that dates back into the mists of ancient British history, that has produced many brave men, princes, poets, bards, scholars, and, more recently, great singers, a very memorable goon [a reference to the Welsh comedian Harry Secombe] and eminent film stars.

All these people have been inspired in some way by this heritage.

(In English)

I hope and trust that in time I shall be able to offer my own contribution, and to do that. I seek your cooperation and understanding.

Speaking for myself, as a result of my two-month stay in this country, I have come to see far more in the title I hold than hitherto. I am more than grateful to the people of this principality for making my brief stay so immensely worthwhile and for giving me such encouragement in the learning of the language.

I know that social conditions have changed since 50 years ago and, of course, are still changing.

The demands on a Prince of Wales have altered, but I am determined to serve and to try as best I can to live up to those demands, whatever they might be in the rather uncertain future.

One thing I am clear about and it is that Wales needs to look forward without forsaking the traditions and essential aspects of her past. The past can be just as much a stimulus to the future as anything else. By the affirmation of your loyalty today, for which I express my gratitude, this will not simply be a faint hope.

The New York Times, Wednesday, July 2, 1969, Frontpage

The New York Times, Wednesday, July 2, 1969, Page 6