| Prince of Wales's feathers | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Armiger | William, Prince of Wales |
| Shield | A plume of three ostrich feathers argent enfiled by a royal coronet of alternate crosses and fleur-de-lys or |
| Motto | German:Ich dien (I serve) |
ThePrince of Wales's feathers are theheraldic badge of thePrince of Wales, the heir to the British throne. The badge consists of three white ostrichfeathers encircled by a goldcoronet. A ribbon below the coronet bears the German mottoIch dien (German:[ɪçˈdiːn], modern German "ich diene", "I serve"). As well as being used in royalheraldry, the feathers are sometimes used to symboliseWales itself,[1] particularly in Welshrugby union and Welsh regiments of theBritish Army.
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The feathers are the badge of the heir apparent to the British throne regardless of whether or not the Prince of Wales title is held.[2][3][4][5][6]
The ostrich feathers heraldic motif is generally traced back toEdward, the Black Prince (1330–1376), eldest son andheir apparent of KingEdward III of England. The Black Prince bore (as an alternative to his paternal arms) a shield ofSable, three ostrich feathers argent, described as his "shield for peace", probably meaning the shield he used forjousting. These arms appear several times on hischest tomb inCanterbury Cathedral, alternating with his paternal arms (the royal arms of King Edward III differenced bya label of three points argent).[7] The Black Prince also used heraldic badges of one or more ostrich feathers in various other contexts.[8]
The feathers had first appeared at the time of the marriage of Edward III toPhilippa of Hainault, and Edward III himself occasionally used ostrich feather badges.[10] It is therefore likely that the Black Prince inherited the badge from his mother,[11] descended from theCounts of Hainault, whose eldest son bore the title "Count ofOstrevent", the ostrich (French:autruche,Old French spellings includingostruce) feathers being possibly anheraldic pun on that name.[12][10][13] Alternatively, the badge may have derived from theCounts of Luxembourg, from whom Philippa was also descended, who had used the badge of an ostrich.[12] The accompanying motto, "Ich dien" (meaning "I serve"), may also be attributed to Philippa and the language of herLow Countries homeland.[14] SirRoger de Clarendon, anillegitimate son of the Black Prince by his mistressEdith Willesford, bore arms ofOr, on abend sable three ostrich feathers argent.[15]
KingRichard II, the Black Prince's legitimate son, used ostrich feather badges in several colours[16] and awarded augmented arms with ostrich feather supporters toThomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk (1366–1399).[9]
According to a longstanding legend, the Black Prince obtained the badge from the blind KingJohn of Bohemia, against whom he fought at theBattle of Crécy in 1346. After the battle, the prince is said to have gone to the body of the dead king, and taken his helmet with its ostrich feathercrest, afterwards incorporating the feathers into his arms, and adopting King John's motto, "Ich dien", as his own. The story first appears in writing in 1376, the year of the Black Prince's death.[10][17] There is, however, no sound historical basis for it, and no evidence for King John having used either the motto or the crest (he actually bore a crest of vultures' wings).[11][12][10] Nevertheless, King John was also Count of Luxembourg, whose badge was an ostrich feather as has been noted above. Therefore, the claim on the Black Prince's tomb that he had adopted the badge to honour the dead king's courage might well be true after all.
Since a key factor in the English army's victory at Crécy was the use of Longbow archers (a third of whom were Welsh) it is also sometimes said to have been Edward's pride in the men of Wales which led him to adopt a symbol alluding to their assistance. The Freemen of Llantrisant claim that it was their ancestors who killed King John of Bohemia and captured his ostrich-feather emblem. The medieval German motto "Ich dien" ("I serve") is a near-homophone for theWelsh phrase "Eich Dyn" meaning "Your Man", which might have helped endear the young Black Prince to the Welsh soldiers in particular, but there doesn't seem to be any contemporary evidence for this claim. In the 19th century the motto was, at one point reappropriate to signify "Eich Dyn" and this was repeated in multiple articles at this time.[18][19][20][21][22]
John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, the Black Prince's second younger brother, used ostrich feathers in several contexts, including on a shield very similar to the Black Prince's "shield for peace", although in Gaunt's case the feathers wereermine.[24][25] Single ostrich feather supporters were also used byJohn Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset (1404–1444) (as shown in hisGarter stall plate in St George's Chapel),[23] the second son ofJohn Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset (1371–1410), the eldest of the four legitimized children of John of Gaunt by his mistressKatherine Swynford.
KingHenry IV, of theHouse of Lancaster, the son of John of Gaunt by his first wifeBlanche of Lancaster, used a badge of a single ostrich feather entwined by a scroll inscribed with the motto "Ma Sovereyne".[26] His eldest son and successor KingHenry V used ostrich feathers as a secondary royal badge at various times, as did Henry IV's younger sonsThomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence who used an ermine ostrich feather with a label;John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford who used an ostrich feather with the "Sovereygne" scroll; andHumphrey of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Gloucester who used an ostrich feather semée offleurs-de-lis. Similar badges were used by other royal princes.[27][28]
The first Prince of Wales to use the badge in its modern form (i.e. three white feathers encircled by a coronet, and with the mottoIch dien) was PrinceArthur (1486–1502), eldest son ofHenry VII, at the beginning of the 16th century.[12][29] It was also widely used by Prince Edward, son ofHenry VIII and afterwardsEdward VI, although he was never formally invested as Prince of Wales.[30] Feathers continued to be used as lesser royal badges, byElizabeth I among others, until the end of the century.[31]
Only from the beginning of the 17th century did the badge become exclusively associated with the Prince of Wales. It has formed thedexter badge[32][33] of theheraldic achievement of the Prince of Wales since at least 1901, blazonedA plume of three ostrich feathers argent enfiled by a coronet composed of fleurs-de-lys and crosses patée or alternately with motto Ich Dien.[32]
Several British military units have incorporated the Prince of Wales's feather into their badges. The feathers are featured on thecap badge of theRoyal Welsh, an amalgamation of three Welsh regiments, theRoyal Welch Fusiliers, theRoyal Regiment of Wales and theTerritorial Army'sRoyal Welsh Regiment. The badge of theRoyal Navy'sHMS Prince of Wales also incorporates the Prince of Wales's feathers. Other British military units that incorporate the Prince of Wales's feathers into their badge(s) include:
The badge also appears as an element on the regimental badges of several military units in other countries of theCommonwealth of Nations, which have a historical connection with the Prince of Wales. These include:
TheRashtriya Indian Military College, anIndian military academy formerly named the Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College from 1922 to 1947, also utilizes the feather badge in its own symbology.
The cap anduniform badge oflord-lieutenants in Welshlieutenancies uses the Prince-of-Wales feathers to differentiate its lord-lieutenants from lord-lieutenants in other counties.[34]
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Several former British Army units also incorporated the Prince of Wales's feathers into their own badges before their disbandment/amalgamation into larger units during the 20th and early 21st century. They include the2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles),Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians),Staffordshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales'),South Lancashire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's Volunteers), the9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's), thePrince of Wales' Own Civil Service Rifles, and theRoyal Hussars (Prince of Wales' Own).[35] The92nd (Prince of Wales's Own) Punjabis, a formerBritish Indian Army unit, also incorporated the feather badge into its own design.
A single Prince of Wales's feather was also incorporated into the badge ofHMS Norfolk.Norfolk was decommissioned in 2005.
During theEnglish Civil War, most coins minted byCharles I at his various provincial wartime mints carry the feathers. The feathers appear on these coins because Charles I had no access to theRoyal Mint in London and instead transferred the Aberystwyth Mint (originally established to coin Welsh silver) toShrewsbury and then Oxford as an emergency measure. All the Civil War provincial mints are therefore in effect sub-branches of the Aberystwyth mint.
The badge appeared on thereverse of the Britishtwo pence coins minted between 1971 and 2008, many of which remain in circulation. The badge appears as a provenance mark on those silver coins minted using Welsh-mined silver in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Surrey County Cricket Club were granted permission in 1915 to use the feathers for their badge. Their home ground,The Oval, is on land owned by the Duchy of Cornwall.[36]
The feathers appear on the badge ofWrexham Association Football Club.
The emblem ofLingfield Park Racecourse, in Surrey incorporates the feathers, having been opened in 1890 by the Prince of Wales (latterly Edward VII)
The feathers are used as the logo of two shooting clubs at Oxford University: the Oxford University Pistol Club (OUPC),[37] and the Oxford University Rifle Club (OURC).[38]
The feathers have traditionally been worn on the jerseys of players in theWelsh rugby union team, being sewn on jerseys of players representing Welsh clubs before a national team or union existed. It has since been adopted as thelogo of the Welsh Rugby Union by theWelsh Rugby Union (WRU). In the 1990s, the WRU modified the form of the badge they used tocopyright the design. The new logo is more stylised, with the letters "WRU" in place of "Ich dien". As the logo of the WRU, the Prince of Wales' feathers are also represented in one of the quarters of theBritish and Irish Lions' badge.
There have been multiple calls for the WRU to use a logo "more relevant to Wales" as the feathers are seen by some as a British rather than a Welsh symbol, heavily associated with theBritish monarchy. In 2021, the pro-independence groupYesCymru created a number of mock-up logos using the alternative Welsh symbols of a leek, daffodil and a harp. Using aWelsh dragon has also been proposed.[39]
Wales Rugby League (WRL) also used the three feathers for its own logo between 1908 and 2005. After a period of changes and consultations, WRL officially changed the logo from the three feathers to a newWelsh Dragon design in 2022.[40] The WRL chairman Brian Juliff stated that "This is another step forward into establishing our own brand identity across Wales. The dragon and the feathers have been a regular debate topic throughout my ten years as chair at Wales Rugby League and, after taking all opinions and considerations, we have finally decided to go with the majority view and instincts."[41]
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The Prince of Wales's feather is incorporated into theCanadian royal standard for the Prince of Wales. The feathered badge is imposed on a blue roundel within a wreath of golen maple leaves.[42]
The Prince of Wales's feathers has been incorporated into the coat of arms of several regions and municipalities.Norfolk County Council was given special consent byKing Edward VII to use the badge on its arms, in recognition ofSandringham House, which was one of the King's favourite residences.[43] From 1932 until its abolition in 1965, theMunicipal Borough of Barnes, Surrey, used feathers based on those of the Prince of Wales on its coat of arms, in honour of the fact that the then Prince of Wales (afterwardsEdward VIII, and laterDuke of Windsor) had been born in the borough.[44] The badge was also used on thecoat of arms of Penang until 1985, a state ofMalaysia that the British settled in 1786 as Prince of Wales Island.
A derivative of the badge is that used by thePrince's Trust, a charitable organisation founded by Charles III (then Prince of Wales). TheCarlton Club is another organisation in the UK that also uses the feathered coronet badge as its emblem, without the motto. The badge is used by a society inMalta called "The Prince of Wales Philharmonic Society". The scope of this organisation is mainly one related to music but is also linked to the feast ofSt. Dominic inVittoriosa in Malta. Malta was a colony of the British Crown for 200 years, and there exist a variety of clubs and organisations bearing the name of royal personalities.
Several schools named after the Prince of Wales incorporate his badge in their own symbols. They includePrince Edward School inHarare, Zimbabwe; thePrince of Wales' College inMoratuwa, Sri Lanka, and thePrince of Wales Secondary School inVancouver, Canada. The badge is inscribed on the foundation stone ofPatna Medical College and Hospital, inPatna, India, a medical college initially established as the Prince of Wales Medical College.
Many pubs in the UKare named The Prince of Wales's Feathers, The Prince's Feathers or simply The Feathers, particularly in areas associated with royal estates.
A diamond broach of the Prince of Wales's feathers was commissioned byEdward VIII when Prince of Wales and given by him toWallis Simpson in 1935. It was sold at the auction of Wallis's jewellery at Sotheby's in Geneva 1987 and was bought by the actorElizabeth Taylor bidding over the telephone for $623,000.[45] It was sold at Christie's in 2011 as part of the sale of Taylor's jewellery collection for $1.3 million.[46]
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