We visited the castle where Prince Charles became Prince of Wales. It's wrong to call it a Welsh castle, however, because it's actually an English castle, one that English invaders established to control the unruly Welsh. Pause for a moment to consider the word "unruly." We usually think of it as undisciplined, out of order. I now see the origin as ungovernable. The Welsh caused trouble even when they were subjugated. For instance there was a time when Welsh insurrectionists came into the castle close disguised as market goers. Once inside they threw off their capes and started attacking. I don't remember exactly what happened next, but I don't think it was pretty. And the English kept command.
Then there is the tale of the first English prince of Wales. King Charles I told his restive Welsh subjects that his heir would be born in the Caernafon castle in Wales, and that his son wouldn't speak English. The apocryphal tale goes on to say that the king did indeed install his queen at Caernarfon when she was about to give birth. And the day after his son was born, the king presented the newborn to his people and said, "See, he doesn't speak English!"
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