As the U.K. election is just around the corner, voters would want to know the stand of the candidates or parties that they are rooting for on the existence of the monarchy. For instance, the Plaid Cymru.
The social-democratic political party in Wales is a staunch anti-monarchist party today. One of its goals that are set on its constitution is to establish a national community based on equal citizenship. The party is pushing for equality regardless of race, nationality, gender, color, creed, sexuality, age, ability, and social background.
However, it was revealed that its founding members supported a constitutional monarchy. Apparently, one of the party's founders, Saunders Lewis, described himself as a "strong monarchist" while another founder, David James, strongly endorsed a Welsh constitutional monarchy.
James wrote an article in 1953 in which he claimed a Welsh constitutional monarchy would help solidify their national identity and legitimize their sovereignty from the United Kingdom. He explained that a hereditary monarch would embody a Welsh national identity above the party politics.
The Welsh Republican Movement eventually split from Plaid Cymru. The group started a newspaper and fielding candidate in an election. In the mid-50s, however, most of its members returned to Plaid Cymru or Labour.
Express noted that unlike former Prime Minister Tony Blair's "Clause 4 moment" in the Labour Party, there was no clear moment in time that defines if Plaid Cymru changed its position about monarchy that Queen Elizabeth II is ruling for decades. At present, the position of the party about the matter is very clear.
Leanne Wood, who led the party from 2012 to 2018, has been outspoken about her anti-monarchist stance. Her successor Adam Price supports the party's position. However, Express noted that in the 2015 YouGov poll, only eight percent of the Welsh population want to abolish the monarchy.
The issue about the Welsh nationalism and anti-monarchism have been highlighted in one of the episodes in the recent The Crown Season 3. In Episode 6, Prince Charles was sent by his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, to Aberystwyth University in 1969 to learn the Welsh language ahead of his investiture as the Prince of Wales.
The monarch hoped that the Queen's action would calm down the mounting Welsh nationalism. Charles' teacher, Dr. Edward Millward, is a known Welsh nationalist and advocate for the language. At the time, he is also the Vice President of Plaid Cymru, but he resigned to teach Charles.
The prince did learn the language and used it in his speech during the investiture. However, according to Millward's daughter, Llio, her father felt it was a "personal disappointment" to him that Charles rarely used the language skills that he learned from the language expert after his investiture.
