, native Prince of Wales in Cilmeri, near Builth Wells in 1969 The 1960s movement surrounding the investiture has historically been described as the "anti-investiture movement" and "anti-investiture sentiment". The investiture occurred during a period of revival of the Welsh national consciousness with an outspoken section considering it as an English prince being imposed upon Wales. The investiture faced fierce opposition from people who saw the Prince of Wales as symbolic of Wales's occupation by the English crown. Nationalist sentiment had been on the rise, particularly since 1957 when
a Welsh valley was evacuated and flooded to provide water for the English city of
Liverpool. (1969) Communities and institutions were divided on the issue of the investiture. These included the
Urdd,
Plaid Cymru, the
Gorsedd and non-conformist denominations. Students in all of the University of Wales campuses held multiple sit-in protests and hunger strikes to show their opposition to the investiture. The
FWA and
Mudiad Amddiffyn Cymru also added to the tension. Because of the tension and protests leading up to the investiture of July 1969, the UK government drafted many soldiers and detectives, as well as
agents provocateurs, to ensure a smoothly running ceremony in Caernarfon. Campaigning was led by
Mudiad Amddiffyn Cymru (MAC,
Movement for the Defence of Wales) and the
Free Wales Army, with the situation described before the investiture as "something close to open warfare between the Government's police and young people of Wales". Welsh singer
Dafydd Iwan voiced his opposition and protest against investing Charles as Prince of Wales and also wrote a song "Carlo" mocking Charles. Iwan stated "[It is a] song to be taken lightly, ... like the Investiture itself, and every other vanity. The shame is that there was meaning and a serious purpose to [the role of] Prince of Wales once". The Welsh language youth festival, the
Urdd Eisteddfod, elected not to send representatives to the investiture. But, due to their 1969 festival taking place in Aberystwyth where Charles was studying, the prince was invited to speak at the event. Protests erupted at the moment Charles started his speech, with two large groups simultaneously walking out shouting slogans including "Urdd has been betrayed".
Tedi Millward, professor of Welsh at Aberystwyth University, became friendly with Charles in the lead-up to the investiture whilst teaching him some Welsh. He refused invitations to the investiture ceremony, as well as the 1981
wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer. Charles himself said in 2019 "Every day I had to go down to the town where I went to these lectures, and most days there seemed to be a demonstration going on against me". The investiture of Charles as "Prince of Wales was controversial and also led to widespread protests in Wales. The group "Cofia 1282" ("Remember 1282", the death year of Llywelyn the Last) also held protests against the investiture. The
Welsh Language Society (Cymdeithas yr Iaith) also held a rally against the investiture on 29 August, 1969 at
Cilmeri, the site of the death of Llywelyn the Last. There were false speculations that they had intended to blow up the royal train. Another threw a banana skin under the feet of the military escort as it processed by. On the day of the ceremony, a young man threw an egg at the Queen's carriage, and he was leapt upon by the surrounding crowd. Helicopters flew overhead, drain covers in Caernarfon were sealed, and radio stations were surrounded by barbed wire, which meant a planned storming of Caernarfon Castle was impossible. ==In popular culture==