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TheHonours of the Principality of Wales are theregalia used at theinvestiture of thePrince of Wales, as heir apparent to the British throne, made up of acoronet, a ring, arod, a sword, agirdle and amantle.[2] All but the coronet date fromthe investiture ofPrince Edward (later Edward VIII thenDuke of Windsor) in 1911 when most of the Honours of Wales were redesigned.[2]
Thepresent coronet takes the form laid down in a royal warrant issued byCharles II in 1677, which states, "The son and heir apparent ofthe Crown shall use and bear his coronet of crosses andfleurs-de-lis with one arch and a ball and cross".[3] Within the frame, which is made of gold, is avelvet cap lined withermine. The present coronet was made forthe investiture ofCharles, Prince of Wales (later Charles III) in 1969 as theCoronet of George was still in the possession of the Duke of Windsor who was living in exile in France.[2] The defunct coronet and its predecessor theCoronet of Frederick are now a part of theCrown Jewels in theJewel House at theTower of London.[4] The original coronets as worn by the Welsh rulers of theKingdom of Gwynedd and other Welsh principalities have been lost.Llywelyn's coronet was seized by the king of England in 1284 and is known only to history. The fates of the coronets of the rulers of the other princely states, if they ever had them, are not known.
The regalia were on display at theNational Museum of Wales from 1974 until 2011 when they were put into storage atSt James's Palace, London.[5] The coronet and rod were both put on permanent display in theJewel House at theTower of London in 2020.[6]