PRINCE OF WALES

The title bestowed by patent on the heir apparent to the crown of England. He is born Duke of Cornwall, .; but the title of Duke of Cornwall does not nece arily belong to the heir apparent, as it can only be held by the first begotten (not eldest) son of a king: thus Henry VIII. was not, in the life of his father, Duke of Cornwall. The origin of the title of Prince of Wales is as follows: When Edward I. subdued Wales, he promised the people of that country, upon condition of their submia sion, to give them a prince who was born amongst them, and who could speak no other language. Upon their acquiescence with this deceitful offer he conferred the principality*/Wales upon his second son Edward, then an infant," born within the principality, and unable to speak any language. Edward, by the death of his cider brother Alfonso, became heir to the crown, and from that time this honour has been appropriated to the eldest Q31sons of the Kings of England. The Earldom of Chester, which is likewise usually conferred upon the heir-apparent, was once a principality, and erected into that title by parliament in the 21st of Richard II.: it was then appointed to be given to the kind's eldest son. But the whole acts of that parliament were repealed in the reign of Henry IV., although ti.e earldom has usually been since given with the principality of Wales. The revenue of the last Prince of Wales wai [s. 995]