A land of castles and princes

Wales has not always been a part of Great Britain. Between the ninth and the eleventh centuries, Wales was divided into small states. In the thirteenth century, Llewelyn ap Iorwerth united the country and his son was crowned the first Prince of Wales. Welsh independence did not last long. Later that century, the English king, Edward I, conquered Wales and gave the title of Prince of Wales to his son, Edward. Since then the eldest son of the English king or queen has always been called The Prince of Wales and Wales is called a principality. Wales now has some self-government and its own assembly in Cardiff.

All over Wales, there are medieval castles. They were built by the English to dominate the Welsh. There are so many of these medieval castles that they stretch like a chain across Wales. Perhaps the most impressive castle is Caerphilly. This huge fortress, dating from 1268, is one of the greatest surviving castles of the medieval western world.

Michael Vaughan-Rees, Geraldine Sweeney, Picot Cassidy: In Britain; Cornelsen Verlag, 2000, page 87