PRINCE OF WALES, the title borne by the eldest son of the sovereign of England. Tho native sovereigns of Wales were•so designated in the days of Welsh independence; and on the conquest of Wales, the principality of Wales and earldom of Chester were bestowed by henry III. on his son, afterward Edwdrd I., hut as an office of trust and govern ment rather than as a title. It is traditionally related that Edward I. engaged to give the Welsh people a prince who would be horn among them, and not know a word of English. and fulfilled the promise by bestowing the principality on his infant son, Edward, b. at Caernarvon castle. Edward, by the death of his elder brother, became heir-appar ent. Edward 111., his son, was never prince of Wales; but in 1343 he invested his son, Edward the black prince, with the principality, and from that time the title of prince of Wales has been borne by the eldest son of the reigning king. The title is, however, not inherited, and has usually been bestowed by patent and investiture, though in a few instances the heir to the throne has become prince of Wales simply by being so declared_ The eldest son of the sovereign is by inheritance duke of Cornwall, a title first conferred in 1337 on Edward the black prince, on the death of his uncle, John of Eltham, the last earl of Cornwall, and held, according to the terms of the grant, by the first begotten son of the king. The title of earl of Chester, borne by Edward before his accession to the throne, has since been given along with the principality of Wales. That earldom was, by 21 Richard II. c. 9, erected into a principality; and it was enacted that it should be given in future to the king's eldest son—a precedent which has since been followed, although that statute, along with all others in the same parliament, was repealed by 1 Henry IV. c. 3. On the death of a prince of Wales in his father's lifetime, the title has been conferred on the sovereign's grandson, or next younger son, being heir-appar ent. As hair of the crown of Scotland, the eldest son of the sovereign is prince and high steward of Scotland, duke of Rothsay, earl of Carrick, baron of Renfrew, and lord of the isles. The high office held by the house of Stewart (see STEWART, HOUSE OF) became
merged in the crown when Robert II., the representative of the family, ascended the throne of Scotland in 1371. The earldom of Carrick was conferred by Robert 11. on his eldest son. The4lukedom of Rothesay was created by a solemn council held at Scone in 1398, and conferred on David, eldest son and heir of Robert III.; and when David, in 1402, fell a victim to the ambition of his uncle, it was transferred to his brother James, afterward James I. of Scotland. Renfrew was the chief patrimony of the stewards of Scotland, to whom it was granted by the sovereign in the 12th c., their principal resi dence having been in the burgh of Renfrew. In 1404 king Robert III. granted the barony of Renfrew and other portions of the estates of the stewards to his son and heir, James, since which time the eldest son of the sovereign has borne the title of baron of Renfrew. By act of the Scottish parliament of 1469, the titles of prince and high stew ard of Scotland, duke of Rothesay, earl of Carrick, baron of Renfrew, and lord of the isles were vested in the eldest son and heir-apparent of the crown of*Scotland forever. The present prince of Wales was created earl of Dublin on Sep. 10, 1849, that dignity being destined to him and his heirs, kings of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, forever.
An annuity of £40,000 was settled on the prince of Wales by 26 Viet. c. 1. He bas besides the revenues of the duchy of Cornwall. These amounted 1840 to between £11,000 and £16,000; since that period they have greatly risen, amounting in 1876 to £99,827. Only a small part of this ,income has been expended since the birth of the present prince of Wales. The sum paid over to the present prince of Wales in 1868 was £55,252; and in 1876, £70,375, An income of $10,000 has been settled by parliament on the princess of Wales, to be raised to £30,000 in the event of her widow hood. The annuities of the prince and princess of Wales are charged on the consoli. dated fund.