The currentcapital of Wales isCardiff. Historically,Wales did not have a definite capital. In 1955, theMinister for Welsh Affairs informally proclaimed Cardiff to be the capital of Wales. Since 1964, Cardiff has been home to government offices for Wales, and since 1999 it has been the seat of theSenedd.
Between the end ofRoman rule and theconquest by Edward I in the late 13th century, Wales was usually divided between four kingdoms. There were only brief periods where the land was dominated by a single ruler, most notably byGruffydd ap Llywelyn in the 11th century.[1] Rather than being based in a fixed location, Welsh kings would maintain anitinerant court,[2] as was the norm inmedieval Europe.
In the past, multiple places have served as a seat of the government of Wales, including:
The ecclesiastical capital of Wales isSt Davids, the resting place of the country's patron saint,Saint David.
In the 19th century, Cardiff grew to become the largest settlement in Wales, due to its role as a port for exporting coal from theSouth Wales Valleys. By 1881, it had overtaken bothSwansea andMerthyr Tydfil to become the country's most populous urban area,[6] and in 1905, it receivedcity status.[7] In subsequent years, an increasing number of Welsh national institutions were founded in the city, including theNational Museum of Wales (chartered in 1907),Welsh National War Memorial (unveiled 1928), and theRegistry Building (1903) of theUniversity of Wales. However, theNational Library of Wales (chartered 1907) is located inAberystwyth.[8] This was partly because the library's founder,Sir John Williams, did not think that Cardiff was a Welsh city in character.[9] Theinvestiture of the Prince of Wales took place within the shell ofCaernarfon Castle when the ceremony was revived in 1911 and 1969. Since 1920, the election of theArchbishop of Wales has taken place inLlandrindod Wells, chosen for its central location.[10]
In the 20th century, Welsh local authorities debated where a new capital of Wales should be, with 76 out of 161 opting for Cardiff in a 1924 poll, organised by theSouth Wales Daily News.[11] The authorities were mostly split between Cardiff andCaernarfon, with a smaller faction supporting Aberystwyth. The discussions stalled and progress was not made until 1950.[11]
The government of the Labour Prime Minister,Clement Attlee, had not named a capital of Wales during his government. Attlee noted that a number of cities made claims to the status, and that theCouncil for Wales and Monmouthshire did not raise what he considered to be a "domestic issue" with the Government.[12] In his inaugural speech as Lord Mayor of Cardiff, George Williams argued that Cardiff should be considered the capital of Wales.[13]David Llewellyn was elected MP forCardiff North in 1950 and also campaigned for recognising Cardiff. Campaigning for Cardiff stepped up and the city took steps to promote its 'Welshness'. The stalemate over which city should be the new capital was broken when Cardiganshire County Council decided to support Cardiff and, in a 1955 poll of local authorities, 134 out of 161 voted for the city.[11]
On 20 December 1955,Gwilym Lloyd-George, thenMinister for Welsh Affairs andHome Secretary, proclaimed that Cardiff was the capital of Wales, in a reply to aParliamentary question from David Llewellyn. Lloyd-George said that "no formal measures are necessary to give effect to this decision"[14] TheEncyclopedia of Wales says that the decision to recognise the city as the capital of Wales "had more to do with the fact that it contained marginalConservative constituencies than any reasoned view of what functions a Welsh capital should have".
Cardiff only became a centre of national administration with the establishment of theWelsh Office in 1964, which later prompted the creation of various other public bodies such as theArts Council of Wales and theWelsh Development Agency, most of which were based in Cardiff.
In a1997 referendum, Wales narrowly voted in favour of establishing theNational Assembly for Wales (now known as the Senedd), although only 44% supported the proposal in Cardiff.[15][16] Due to the relative lack of support for the Assembly locally, and disagreements between the Welsh Office and Cardiff Council over where it should sit, there was a brief period of speculation that the Assembly would be established elsewhere.[17][18] However, the Assembly eventually located atTŷ Hywel in Cardiff Bay in 1999. It has been based there ever since, moving to its present building in 2006.[19]
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