Why some Welsh people think Charles should have been the last Prince of Wales

On July 1, 1969, 11-year-old Maria Sarnacki stood cheek to jowl with her classmates, Brownie camera raised, as she strained to capture Queen Elizabeth II and then-Prince Charles on the balcony of Caernarfon Castle.

"It was absolutely something out of a film, a fairy tale," Sarnacki said. "The late Majesty and Prince Charles came out … and he turned and waved. And to this day I was convinced he waved to me and nobody else but to me."

Sarnacki, now mayor of the small Welsh town of Caernarfon, was one of thousands outside the castle that day when Charles was formally presented as the Prince of Wales; a moment in history watched by 500 million worldwide. 

While it remains a day she'll "never forget," she says the romance of the occasion has soured. 

"We didn't know any better," she said, noting that as she aged and learned more about the history of her native Wales, the investiture of the Prince of Wales lost its significance.

"If it happened now, I probably wouldn't even attend."

Sarnacki's opposition to the elaborate ceremony is shared by many throughout the country. An opinion poll taken shortly after the Queen's death last year showed more than one-third of people in Wales would prefer for no investiture to take place on Welsh soil for Prince William, King Charles III's eldest son and the newly-minted Prince of Wales. 

For some, it's a reminder that they are subjects rather than citizens, while others say the bigger issue is with the title itself. 

"There's nothing Welsh about it," says Elfed Wyn ap Elwyn, a crusader for Welsh independence and councillor for Gwynedd county, where Caernarfon is located. "It's a title slapped on just to continue that façade, that historical shame."

The "historical shame" the 25-year-old is referring to is when Wales was conquered by Edward I of England in the 13th century.

Caernarfon Castle was built as a symbol of his conquest and his son, Edward of Caernarfon, was dubbed the Prince of Wales, the first Englishman to have the title, according to Nia Jones, a historian of medieval Britain. 

"The creation of the title Prince of Wales in the medieval periods is actually more of a recognition of the frustrations of the native Welsh elite after the conquest. It's sort of like, well, you need to have someone in the English monarchy who's got your back. So here you go, here's the heir," said Jones. 

For the past 700 years, the title of Prince of Wales has been reserved for the heir apparent to the English throne.

Today, the moniker feels like "salt in the wound" rather than an outstretched hand, says Wyn ap Elwyn, who put forward a motion in October of last year to abolish the title. It passed with the support of 46 Gwynedd councillors, while four voted against and another four abstained.