// BBC ENTERTAINMENT & ARTS — MODA & SOCIETÀ
Michael Sheen says Wales should be asked if it wants the Prince of Wales title back
Michael Sheen, from Port Talbot, says learning about Welsh history has changed his understanding of his own identity
Welsh people should be asked whether they want to take the Prince of Wales title back when it next becomes vacant, believes Michael Sheen.
The actor said the title, currently held by Prince William, "symbolises something that was essentially a put-down to Wales".
"Obviously that was a long, long time ago, but these things have power still," he added.
The Hollywood actor was speaking ahead of his forthcoming portrayal of Owain Glyndŵr, the last Welsh-born Prince of Wales, in a new theatre production at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff.
The Royal Family reserves the Prince of Wales title for the heir apparent to the British throne, in a centuries-old tradition.
William and his wife Catherine, the current Princess of Wales, were given the titles by King Charles III following the death of Queen Elizabeth in 2022.
William and Catherine became the Prince and Princess of Wales in 2022
The Prince of Wales title is granted at the discretion of the monarch, as opposed to passing down automatically, but it is rooted in a bloody history.
Llywelyn ap Gruffydd was the last prince of an independent Wales before it was conquered by the English.