The daily morning journal and courier., 1901-12-07
THE PRINCE OF WALES.
Sixteen Persons Have Borne the Title
 --Has Not Been an Altogether Happy

Has Not Been an Altogether Happy
 One
 There is again a Prince of Wales,
 So few of the present generation can
 remember when there was none before the interregnum which was last week ended, that it has seemed strange for the title to be in ebeyence, though for only few months, and it seems natural and familiar for it to be restored to the
 current nomenclature of British social
 and public life The idea that the Duke
 of Cornwall would not thus be honored
 until the time of the Kings coronation
 proves to have been incorrect. The
 King, with that felicity of tact for
 which he has long been noted, chose an
 earlier and more appropriate date. For
 at the cornationN the King will be the | central figure, dominating the entire scene, and such honor paid to the Duke
 then would pass almost unnoticed,
 While at the present time, on his home
 coming from his intra- imperial journey | ings, the heir apparent holds the center of the stage, and his elevation to the principality receives its full need of popular attention
 | In thus honoring his son the King
 follows an excellent though by no
 means unbroken precedent. There has
 not always been Prince of Wales since the creation of that title and not every heir apparent has held that rank. The familiar story of Edward I. and his Juggling promise to the Welch probably contains more fiction than fact But even if the ill-fated Edward IT., "of Carnarvon.' be considered to have been the first Prince Wales, it does not appear that the title was ever trans ferred to or borne by his son. Edward III. The later's son, the illustrious Black Prince" was, however, pro- claimed Prince of Wales, the first of the line whose title is indsputable. The Prince died before coming to the throne, whereupon his father passed the title on to the young son of the late Prince, who became Richard IT., and met with a fate similar to that of Edward IT. The next King. Henry IV, made his son Prince of Wales, but the latter on succeeding as Henry " did not follow the example, and the unhappy Henry VI. never held that title. He bestowed it, however, upon his son, who perished at Tewkesbury without ever coming to the throne. Edward ". made his ill., fated son, Edward ", Prince of Wales, and the next bearer of the title was Arthur, son of Henry VII, who also died before ascending the throne.
 On the death of Arthur, Henry VII. passed the title on to his second son, who became Henry VIII. But he did not make his son, Edward VI, Prince of Wales, and the title was held in abeyance for many years, until it was revived for Henry, son of James I. This Prince died before reaching the throne, and the title was passed on to his brother, who became Charles I. That monarch suffered the title to lapse again, and it was not revived until George I. bestowed 1t upon his son, George II, The latter gave in turn to his son, Frederick-"Fred. who was alive and is dead"-and on that Princes death to his-Frederick s-son, George III, who in turn gave it to his son, George ", after whose accession to the throne the title was again dormant until Victoria revived it, in December;
  given it to his son, the present heir 
 The history of the title has thus not been an altogether happy one. Includ- ing Edward of Carnarvon and the present Prince, it has been borne by sixteen persons. Of these five died be- fore coming to the throne, four came to the throne, but were deposed and put | to death, one came to the throne and reigned long, but was insane. four | had unbroken reigns, and fifth is | now adding to their number, while l the remaining one has just received ] the princely title in circumstances | perhaps more suspicious than those of | any of his predecessors. In one im- | portant respect there has of late been a decided change for the better in the | relationship of the Prince to the sov- ereign In more than one early case the heir apparent was more than sus- pected of leading a sort of opposition l court against his father. But Edward ] VII. during all his long tenure of the princely title-the longest on record-i invariably set the fine example of per feet loyalty to and sympathy with his mother, the Queen, and now that he Is King he enjoys a similarly we'll af- rected regard from his son whom he has just made Prince of Wales That fact makes the present occasion one upon which both King and Prince are to be congratulated.