Michael Sheen says Wales should be asked if it wants the Prince of Wales title back

Welsh people should be asked whether they want to take the Prince of Wales title back when it next becomes vacant, believes Michael Sheen. The actor said the title, currently held by Prince William, "symbolises something that was essentially a put-down to Wales". "Obviously that was a long, long time ago, but these things have power still," he added.

The Hollywood actor was speaking ahead of his forthcoming portrayal of Owain Glyndŵr, the last Welsh-born Prince of Wales, in a new theatre production at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff. The Royal Family reserves the Prince of Wales title for the heir apparent to the British throne, in a centuries-old tradition. William and his wife Catherine, the current Princess of Wales, were given the titles by King Charles III following the death of Queen Elizabeth in 2022.

The Prince of Wales title is granted at the discretion of the monarch, as opposed to passing down automatically, but it is rooted in a bloody history. Llywelyn ap Gruffydd was the last prince of an independent Wales before it was conquered by the English. In 1282, Llywelyn was killed in battle and his head sent to King Edward I, before being displayed at the Tower of London.

Edward I then invested his son Edward II as the Prince of Wales in 1301. A hundred years later, Owain Glyndŵr instigated a 15-year revolt against the rule of King Henry IV and claimed the title Prince of Wales, before Wales was reconquered by the English. Glyndŵr has since become a figurehead for Welsh nationalism and there are statues, monuments, pubs and street names across Wales commemorating him.

Sheen, who will portray Glyndŵr in Owain & Henry this November, said the production had made him think more about the history of Wales, and he hoped it would "start a conversation" - including questions about why the Prince of Wales does not come from Wales. He said the title "symbolises something that was essentially a kind of put-down to Wales", saying that when Edward I made his son the Prince of Wales, it was an attempt to keep Wales "in your place". Sheen believes the people of Wales should be asked what happens to the title when it next becomes vacant.

He added: "The Welsh people might decide that they don't want the title Prince of Wales to come back to Wales, and they're happy with it the way it is. "But I think it would be nice to be asked." Prince of Wales title: Honour or humiliation? William speaks of deep affection for Wales In 2017, Sheen handed back his OBE for services to drama after learning more about the history of his native Wales.