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Wales Online
Wales Online
Politics
Will Hayward

Mark Drakeford says William's investiture shouldn't be 'anything like' Charles'

Wales' First Minister has said that he refused to watch Charles' investiture as Prince of Wales and thinks Prince William should attempt to learn Welsh.

In a wide ranging interview with the i newspaper, Mark Drakeford also said that the Prince would have to pay a premium rate of council tax on his second home. He also disclosed the only two words Liz Truss ever said to him when he was Prime Minister as well as his reaction to his viral angry rant in the Senedd.

The title Prince of Wales is a very contentious one in Wales. Many believe the title is a symbol of repression of the Welsh. You can read WalesOnline's analysis of what the future for the role of Prince of Wales could be here.

Read more: The simply terrible response the Welsh secretary gave when challenged about Wales missing out on HS2 funding

There was some criticism of the decision King Charles to elevate his son William to the role shortly after the death of the Queen. Many took issue with the fact there had been no consultation with the people of Wales or the Senedd over the decision.

In response to this Mr Drakeford told the i: "Whatever people think of the decision, good or bad, it's now about how to make the best use of that decision. And the best way to make use of the decision is to give the new incumbent the time; he will need to work out for himself how he wants to use the platform that that brings. And I think that does include things like an investiture. I would not take the 1969 investiture as anything like a model to use."

The 1969 investiture was widely criticised and was full of arcane language. It was also held in Caernarfon Castle which been originally built to oppress the local Welsh populous. Mr Drakeford revealed in the same interview that his response to the investiture made his parents mad. "I displeased my parents, which was unusual for me, by refusing to watch it," he said.

King Charles made an effort in his youth to learn Cymraeg and Mark Drakeford feels it would be fair for William to also do this. He said: "I think over time, if he finds he has an aptitude for the language, that will be a decent ambition to have".

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