(5 of 8)
With Permanent Guard Sergeant Anthony Speed of Scotland Yard installed in a room across the hall, Charles plunged into a cram course in Welsh language and history. He made his own bed, carried his own cafeteria tray, and began receiving sweaters knitted for him by the dames of Aberystwyth. He also found time to surf, squash and perform some princely duties.
On a bright sunny day in Cardiff, Charles presented regimental colors to the new Royal Regiment of Wales, an amalgamation of the old Welch Regiment and the South Wales Borderers, created as part of Britain's efforts to cut defense expenditures. For Charles, newly named as its Colonel in Chief, it was a successful show, marred only slightly by the efforts of the regimental goat to eat his sash. "Let us hope," he said later, "that the mascot is trained to act as an alarm in the event of any surprises sprung on us by certain activists," a reference to Wales' extreme nationalists.
To the Heights
Getting to know Wales also included a recent climb up Mount Snowdon (3,560 ft.), the highest Welsh peak. The Prince set a brisk pace. "He came up like a mountain goat," said his equerry. At the summit, his appearance touched off a mini-mob scene. As one girl aimed her camera, Charles gently informed her: "My dear, your [lens] cap is on." Spotting an American reporter, he asked: "You mean to say you've come all the way from the U.S. just to climb Snowdon?" Reporter: "It was just for you, sir," adding that the investiture had something to do with it. Replied Charles helpfully: "Well, perhaps we could hold it up here."
Despite the Prince's efforts to come to know Wales, there are many who resent his presence. Perhaps the most radical dissenters are the members of the Free Wales Army: eight young members are now on trial in Swansea, and some evidence produced during the trial hints that they planned to storm Caernarvon Castle during the investiture. Some call the army "a standing joke . . . they couldn't blow the skin off a rice pudding." But the organization has managed to commit eleven acts of sabotage against public facilities since March 1966.
Most Welsh nationalists disavow the Free Wales Army and the other small terrorist groups. They prefer the moderate way of the Plaid Cymru, founded in 1925 and at last beginning to gain support. The Plaid is backed by about 12% of Wales' 2.7 million population, up from only 5% ten years ago. In a 1966 by-election the party succeeded in electing its first MP. The Plaid Cymru demands autonomy for Wales, believing that Wales gets back too little from London compared to what it contributes in taxes and productivity. Culturally, it seeks to preserve and expand the ancient Welsh language, now spoken by about 25% of the population.