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Prince of Wales's feathers: Difference between revisions

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The '''Prince of Wales's feathers''' isare the [[Dexter andheraldic sinister|dexterbadge]]<ref> of the [[DexterPrince andof sinister|sinisterWales]] badge being, the "Badgeheir ofto Wales",the ''OnBritish a mount vert a dragon passant gules differenced by a label of three points argent'' (Montague-Smith, P.Wthrone. (ed.), Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage and Companionage, Kelly's Directories Ltd, Kingston-upon-Thames, 1968, p.24)</ref> [[heraldicThe badge]] of the [[Prince of Wales]]. It consists of three white ostrich [[feather]]s encircled by a gold [[coronet]]. A ribbon below the coronet bears the German motto {{lang|de|Ich dien}} ({{IPA-|de|ɪç ˈdiːn|lang}}, modern German "ich diene", "I serve"). As well as being used in royal [[heraldry]], the badgefeathers isare sometimes used to symbolise [[Wales]] itself,<ref name="Wales.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.wales.com/en/content/cms/english/about_wales/wales_fact_file/national_emblems/national_emblems.aspx |title=National Emblems |year=2008 |work=Wales.com |publisher=Welsh Assembly Government |access-date=1 December 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090426110720/http://www.wales.com/en/content/cms/English/About_Wales/Wales_Fact_File/National_Emblems/National_Emblems.aspx |archive-date=26 April 2009 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> particularly in Welsh [[Rugby union in Wales|rugby union]] and Welsh regiments of the [[British Army]].
 
==Bearers of the motif==
[[File:Arms of the Prince of Wales (Shield of Peace).svg|thumb|upright|[[Edward the Black Prince]]'s "shield for peace": ''Sable, three ostrich feathers argent'']]
The feathers are the badge of the heir apparent to the British throne regardless of whether or not the Prince of Wales title is held or not.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Club |first=Powys-land |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ddU4AQAAMAAJ |title=The Montgomeryshire Collections |date=1873 |publisher=Clifton Press |pages=38 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Bolitho |first=Hector |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tucgAAAAMAAJ&q=hector%20bolitho%20feathers%20cornwall |title=King Edward VIII: His Life and Reign |date=1937 |publisher=Eyre and Spottiswoode |isbn=978-7-80037-908-6 |pages=22 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=O'Shea |first=Michael J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nKfIFtE2d_gC |title=James Joyce and Heraldry |date=1986-01-01 |publisher=SUNY Press |isbn=978-0-88706-269-8 |pages=108, 174 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Brewer |first=Ebenezer Cobham |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IgjAJazrBWwC |title=Wordsworth Dictionary of Phrase and Fable |date=2001 |publisher=Wordsworth Editions |isbn=978-1-84022-310-1 |pages=123 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=WalesOnline |date=2007-03-02 |title='Stop using my Three Feathers' |url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/stop-using-my-three-feathers-2263539 |access-date=2023-06-01 |website=WalesOnline |language=en}}</ref>▼
The badge has no connection with the [[List of rulers of Wales|native Princes of Wales]] although is associated with the English and British Princes of Wales.{{Citation needed|date=June 2023}}
 
▲The feathers are the badge of the heir apparent regardless of whether the Prince of Wales title is held or not.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Club |first=Powys-land |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ddU4AQAAMAAJ |title=The Montgomeryshire Collections |date=1873 |publisher=Clifton Press |pages=38 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Bolitho |first=Hector |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tucgAAAAMAAJ&q=hector%20bolitho%20feathers%20cornwall |title=King Edward VIII: His Life and Reign |date=1937 |publisher=Eyre and Spottiswoode |isbn=978-7-80037-908-6 |pages=22 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=O'Shea |first=Michael J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nKfIFtE2d_gC |title=James Joyce and Heraldry |date=1986-01-01 |publisher=SUNY Press |isbn=978-0-88706-269-8 |pages=108, 174 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Brewer |first=Ebenezer Cobham |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IgjAJazrBWwC |title=Wordsworth Dictionary of Phrase and Fable |date=2001 |publisher=Wordsworth Editions |isbn=978-1-84022-310-1 |pages=123 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=WalesOnline |date=2007-03-02 |title='Stop using my Three Feathers' |url=https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/stop-using-my-three-feathers-2263539 |access-date=2023-06-01 |website=WalesOnline |language=en}}</ref>
 
===House of Plantagenet===
The ostrich feathers heraldic motif is generally traced back to [[Edward, the Black Prince]] (1330–1376), eldest son and [[heir apparent]] of King [[Edward III of England]]. The Black Prince bore (as an alternative to his [[Difference (heraldry)|differenced]] [[Royalpaternal arms of England|royal arms]]) a shield of ''Sable, three ostrich feathers argent'', described as his "shield for peace", probably meaning the shield he used for [[jousting]]. These arms appear several times on his [[chest tomb]] in [[Canterbury Cathedral]], alternating with his paternal royal arms (the royal arms of King Edward III differenced by ''a label of three points argent'').<ref>Scott Giles 1929, pp. 89–91.</ref> The Black Prince also used heraldic badges of one or more ostrich feathers in various other contexts.<ref>Siddons 2009, pp. 178–9.</ref>
[[File:Complete Guide to Heraldry Fig675.png|thumb|upright|Ostrich feather supporters for [[Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk]].<ref name="ReferenceA">Fox-Davies, Arthur, Complete Guide to Heraldry, Fig 675</ref>]]
The feathers had first appeared at the time of the marriage of King [[Edward III of England|Edward III]] to [[Philippa of Hainault]], and Edward III himself occasionally used ostrich feather badges.<ref name="Siddons 2009, p. 178"/> It is therefore likely that the Black Prince inherited the badge from his mother,<ref name="Scott-Giles 1929, p. 89">Scott-Giles 1929, p. 89.</ref> descended from the [[Count of Hainault|Counts of Hainault]], whose eldest son bore the title "Count of [[Ostrevent]]", the ostrich ({{lang-fr|link=no|autruche}}, [[Old French]] spellings including ''ostruce'') feathers being possibly an [[Canting arms|heraldic pun]] on that name.<ref name="Pinches and Pinches 1974, p. 59">Pinches and Pinches 1974, p. 59.</ref><ref name="Siddons 2009, p. 178">Siddons 2009, p. 178.</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/letters/3631799/Letters-to-The-Daily-Telegraph.html |title=6th letter |newspaper=telegraph.co.uk | location=London |date=30 August 2006}}</ref> Alternatively, the badge may have derived from the [[List of monarchs of Luxembourg#Counts of Luxembourg|Counts of Luxembourg]], from whom Philippa was also descended, who had used the badge of an ostrich.<ref name="Pinches and Pinches 1974, p. 59"/> The accompanying motto, "Ich dien" (meaning "I serve"), may also be attributed to Philippa and the language of her [[Low Countries]] homeland.<ref>{{cite book |last=Fox |first=Paul |title= Great Cloister: A Lost Canterbury Tale|date=9 January 2020 |isbn=978-1-78969-331-7|page=288 |publisher= Archaeopress Publishing|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IfMPEAAAQBAJ&dq=%22Ich+dien%22+philippa&pg=PA288}}</ref> Sir [[Roger de Clarendon]], an [[natural son|illegitimate son]] of the Black Prince by his mistress [[Edith Willesford]], bore arms of ''Or, on a [[Bend (heraldry)|bend]] sable three ostrich feathers argent'';.<ref>Scott-Giles 1929, pp. 90–91.</ref>
 
King [[Richard II of England|Richard II]], the Black Prince's legitimate son, used ostrich feather badges in several colours<ref>Siddons 2009, pp. 179–80.</ref> and awarded augmented arms with ostrich feather supporters to [[Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk]] (1366–1399),.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> the second son of [[John de Mowbray, 4th Baron Mowbray]], and Elizabeth de Segrave, ''suo jure'' Lady Segrave, daughter and heiress of [[John de Segrave, 4th Baron Segrave]], by [[Margaret, Duchess of Norfolk]], daughter and heiress of [[Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk]], a son of King [[Edward I of England|Edward I]].
 
====Legendary origins====
According to a longstanding legend, the Black Prince obtained the badge from the blind King [[John of Bohemia]], against whom he fought at the [[Battle of Crécy]] in 1346. After the battle, the prince is said to have gone to the body of the dead king, and taken his helmet with its ostrich feather [[Crest (heraldry)|crest]], afterwards incorporating the feathers into his arms, and adopting King John's motto, "''{{lang|de|Ich dien}}''", as his own. The story first appears in writing in 1376, the year of the Black Prince's death.<ref name="Siddons 2009, p. 178"/><ref>{{cite journal |first=N. H. |last=Nicolas |author-link=Nicholas Harris Nicolas |title=Contemporary authority adduced for the popular idea that the Ostrich Feathers of the Prince of Wales were derived from the crest of the King of Bohemia |journal=[[Archaeologia (journal)|Archaeologia]] |volume=32 |year=1847 |pages=332–34 |doi=10.1017/S0261340900000631 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1646159 }}</ref> There is, however, no sound historical basis for it, and no evidence for King John having used either the motto or the crest (he actually bore a crest of vultures' wings).<ref name="Scott-Giles 1929, p. 89"/><ref name="Pinches and Pinches 1974, p. 59"/><ref name="Siddons 2009, p. 178"/> Nevertheless, King John was also Count of Luxembourg, whose badge was an ostrich feather as has been noted above. Therefore, the claim on the Black Prince's tomb that he had adopted the badge to honour the dead king's courage might well be true after all.
 
Since a key factor in the English army's victory at Crécy was the use of WelshLongbow archers, (a third of whom were Welsh) it is also sometimes said to have been Edward's pride in the men of Wales which led him to adopt a symbol alluding to their assistance. The Freemen of Llantrisant claim that it was their ancestors (the Black Army) who killed King John of Bohemia and captured his ostrich-feather emblem. The medieval German motto "''{{lang|de|Ich dien}}''" ("I serve") is a near-[[homophone]] for the [[Welsh language|Welsh]] phrase "''{{lang|cy|Eich Dyn}}''" meaning "Your Man", which might have helped endear the young Black Prince to the Welsh soldiers in particular. Again, however, there is no historical evidence to support this theory. In 1917, during the [[First World War]], it was rumoured that the motto might be formally changed to "''Eich Dyn''" to avoid the use of German.<ref>{{cite news |title=Motto of Prince of Wales |newspaper=Aberdeen Weekly Journal |date=14 September 1917 |page=3 |url=http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000573/19170914/089/0003}}</ref>
 
===House of Lancaster===
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[[John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster]], the Black Prince's second younger brother, used ostrich feathers in several contexts, including on a shield very similar to the Black Prince's "shield for peace", although in Gaunt's case the feathers were [[Ermine (heraldry)|ermine]].<ref>Siddons 2009, p. 181.</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Harris |first=Oliver D. |title="Une tresriche sepulture": the tomb and chantry of John of Gaunt and Blanche of Lancaster in [[Old St Paul's Cathedral]], London |journal=Church Monuments |volume=25 |year=2010 |pages=7–35 (22–3)}}</ref> Single ostrich feather supporters were also used by [[John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset]] (1404–1444) (as shown in his [[Garter stall plate]] in St George's Chapel),<ref name="Planché 1852 xx"/> the second son of [[John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset]] (1371–1410), the eldest of the four legitimized children of John of Gaunt by his mistress [[Katherine Swynford]].
 
King [[Henry IV of England|Henry IV]], of the [[House of Lancaster]], the son of John of Gaunt by his first wife [[Blanche of Lancaster]], used a badge of a single ostrich feather entwined by a scroll inscribed with the motto "Ma Sovereyne".<ref>or "Sovereygne", etc.</ref> His eldest son and successor King [[Henry V of England|Henry V]] used ostrich feathers as a secondary royal badge at various times, as did Henry IV's younger sons [[Thomas of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Clarence]] who used an ermine ostrich feather with a label; [[John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford]] who used an ostrich feather with the "Sovereygne" scroll; and [[Humphrey of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Gloucester]] who used an ostrich feather semée of [[Fleur-de-lis|fleurs-de-lis]]. Similar badges were used by other royal princes.<ref>Siddons 2009, pp. 182–6.</ref><ref>Pinches and Pinches 1974, pp. 89–93.</ref>
 
===House of Tudor===
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The [[Rashtriya Indian Military College]], an [[military academies in India|Indian military academy]] formerly named the Prince of Wales Royal Indian Military College from 1922 to 1947, also utilizes the feather badge in its own symbology.
 
====Lord-lieutenant====
The cap and [[Lord-lieutenant#Uniform|uniform]] badge of Lord-lieutenants in Welsh [[Lieutenancy area|lieutenancies]] uses the Prince-of-Wales feathers to differentiate its Lord-lieutenants from`Lord-lieutenants in other counties.<ref name="Special Appointments">{{cite web |title=Army Dress Regulations: Part 12: Special Appointments |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a822c7c40f0b6230269b3a4/2017-04841.pdf |website=Ministry of Defence |date=8 May 2017}}</ref>
 
====Former====
[[File:4th Prince of Wales' Own (PWO) Gurkha Rifles logo.svg|thumb|upright|Insignia of [[4th Gorkha Rifles|4th Prince of Wales' Own (PWO) Gurkha Rifles]]]]
Several former British Army units also incorporated the Prince of Wales's feathers into their own badges before their disbandment/amalgamation into larger units during the 20th and early 21st century. They include the [[2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles (The Sirmoor Rifles)]], [[Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians)]], [[Staffordshire Regiment|Staffordshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales')]], [[South Lancashire Regiment|South Lancashire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's Volunteers)]], the [[9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's)]], the [[Prince of Wales' Own Civil Service Rifles]], and the [[Royal Hussars|Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales' Own)]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://hussars.org/wp/?page_id=187 | title=The Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales Own) | access-date=2015-09-27 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121019174316/http://hussars.org/wp/?page_id=187 | archive-date=19 October 2012 | df=dmy-all | url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[92nd Punjabis|92nd (Prince of Wales's Own) Punjabis]], a former [[British Indian Army]] unit, also incorporated the feather badge into its own design.
 
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The emblem of [[Lingfield Park Racecourse]], in Surrey incorporates the feathers, having been opened in 1890 by the Prince of Wales (latterly Edward VII)
 
The feathers are used as the logo of two shooting clubs at Oxford University: the Oxford University Pistol Club (OUPC),<ref>[{{Cite web|url=https://users.ox.ac.uk/~pistol/ |title=Oxford University Pistol Club]}}</ref> and the Oxford University Rifle Club (OURC).<ref>[{{Cite web|url=http://www.ourc.org.uk/|title=OURC – Oxford University Rifle Club]|date=16 August 2023}}</ref>
 
====Welsh Rugby====
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==See also==
* [[Coat of arms of the Prince of Wales]]
* ''{{lang|fr|[[Dieu et mon droit]]''}}
* [[Flag of Wales]]
* ''[[Honi soit qui mal y pense]]''
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{{Princes of Wales}}
 
[[Category:BritishMonarchy monarchyof the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:English heraldry]]
[[Category:Rugby league in Wales]]
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[[Category:National symbols of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:National symbols of Wales]]
[[Category:Princes of Wales| Feathers]]
[[Category:Ostriches]]
[[Category:Edward the Black Prince]]
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