Actor Michael Sheen, who currently stars in Prodigal Son on FOX, revealed that he gave back an honor he received from Queen Elizabeth for his work in drama because he supported the call to scrap the title of Prince of Wales, Prince Charles' current title.
Sheen, who is Welsh, received an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) appointment from the Queen in 2009 but he told The Guardian journalist Owen Jones in a recent YouTube interview that he relinquished the honor in 2017. He revealed had a realization while writing about a lecture on the "tortured history" of Wales under Great Britain.
The actor said that his decision to give back the OBE isn't about disrespecting the royal family. However, it would be hypocritical of him to retain the honor when he's pushing to scrap the title of Prince of Wales.
Sheen shared that the history of the title started with King Edward I, who made his eldest son the Prince of Wales after colonizing and dominating the Welsh in 1301. Since then, the title has been customarily given to the first-born son of the English monarch. Specifically, the Prince of Wales was never actually Welsh.
Prince Charles has been the longest title-bearer of the Prince of Wales after his investiture in 1958. Once he becomes the King of the United Kingdom, the title will be vacant until his eldest son, Prince William, is formally named the new Prince of Wales.
However, royal expert and historian Carolyn Harris said that Prince William might not hold the title too long, compared to his father since Prince Charles would be passed his 70s when he assumes the throne. If William succeeds his father as the new King, his son, Prince George could be bestowed the title of Prince of Wales when the right time comes.
According to Daily Express, it's not a guarantee that George would become the Prince of Wales even as he's entitled to this title. The decision will actually rely on the new King since it's not a "heritable" title. Experts, however, said that it's unlikely William will refuse to give the title to his son.
Meanwhile, Sheen could still continue using the initials OBE in his name since there is no formal process in place for renouncing this honor though he has not been doing this. The actor joins other prominent names who have given up the distinction, such as David Bowie, John Lennon, Nigella Lawson and Jim Broadbent.
