The Prince of Wales's feathers are the heraldic badge of the Prince of Wales, the heir to the British throne. The badge consists of three white ostrich feathers encircled by a gold coronet. A ribbon below the coronet bears the German motto (, modern German "ich diene", "I serve"). As well as being used in royal heraldry, the feathers are sometimes used to symbolise Wales itself, particularly in Welsh rugby union and Welsh regiments of the British Army.
Bearers of the motif
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.
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 paternal 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 arms (the royal arms of King Edward III differenced by a label of three points argent).Scott Giles 1929, pp. 89–91. The Black Prince also used heraldic badges of one or more ostrich feathers in various other contexts.Siddons 2009, pp. 178–9.
The feathers had first appeared at the time of the marriage of Edward III to Philippa of Hainault, and Edward III himself occasionally used ostrich feather badges. It is therefore likely that the Black Prince inherited the badge from his mother,Scott-Giles 1929, p. 89. descended from the Counts of Hainault, whose eldest son bore the title "Count of Ostrevent", the ostrich (, Old French spellings including ostruce) feathers being possibly an heraldic pun on that name.Pinches and Pinches 1974, p. 59.Siddons 2009, p. 178. Alternatively, the badge may have derived from the Counts of Luxembourg, from whom Philippa was also descended, who had used the badge of an ostrich. The accompanying motto, "Ich dien" (meaning "I serve"), may also be attributed to Philippa and the language of her Low Countries homeland. Sir Roger de Clarendon, an illegitimate son of the Black Prince by his mistress Edith Willesford, bore arms of Or, on a bend sable three ostrich feathers argent.Scott-Giles 1929, pp. 90–91.
King Richard II, the Black Prince's legitimate son, used ostrich feather badges in several coloursSiddons 2009, pp. 179–80. and awarded augmented arms with ostrich feather supporters to Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk (1366–1399).
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, afterwards incorporating the feathers into his arms, and adopting King John's motto, "", as his own. The story first appears in writing in 1376, the year of the Black Prince's death. 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). 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 longbow 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 who killed King John of Bohemia and captured his ostrich-feather emblem. The medieval German motto "" ("I serve") is a near-homophone for the Welsh phrase "" meaning "Your Man", which might have helped endear the young Black Prince to the Welsh soldiers in particular, but there doesn't seem to be any contemporary evidence for this claim. In the 19th century, newspaper articles at various times attempted to reappropriate the motto to signify "Eich Dyn".Chester Chronicle, Friday 3 September 1813 - https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000341/18130903/013/0004Sun (London), Tuesday 9 November 1841 - https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0002194/18411109/044/0006North Devon Journal, Thursday 11 November 1841 - https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000328/18411111/017/0003England, Wales and Scotland by Johann Georg Kohl, 1844 - https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/England_Wales_and_Scotland/krYuAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22england+wales+and+scotland%22+kohl&pg=PA1&printsec=frontcover
House of Lancaster
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.Siddons 2009, p. 181. 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), 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 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".or "Sovereygne", etc. His eldest son and successor King 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 fleurs-de-lis. Similar badges were used by other royal princes.Siddons 2009, pp. 182–6.Pinches and Pinches 1974, pp. 89–93.
House of Tudor The first Prince of Wales to use the badge in its modern form (i.e. three white feathers encircled by a coronet, and with the motto ) was Prince Arthur (1486–1502), eldest son of Henry VII, at the beginning of the 16th century.Siddons 2009, pp. 186–8. It was also widely used by Prince Edward, son of Henry VIII and afterwards Edward VI, although he was never formally invested as Prince of Wales.Siddons 2009, pp. 188–9. Feathers continued to be used as lesser royal badges, by Elizabeth I among others, until the end of the century.Siddons 2009, pp. 187–9.
House of Stuart and successors Only from the beginning of the 17th century did the badge become exclusively associated with the Prince of Wales. It has formed the dexter badgeMontague-Smith, P.W. (ed.), Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage and Companionage, Kelly's Directories Ltd, Kingston-upon-Thames, 1968, p.24Sinister heraldic badge of the Prince of Wales: The Badge of Wales, namely: On a mount vert a dragon passant gules differenced by a label of three points argent of the heraldic achievement of the Prince of Wales since at least 1901, blazoned A plume of three ostrich feathers argent enfiled by a coronet composed of fleurs-de-lys and crosses patée or alternately with motto Ich Dien.
Contemporary uses Military
Several British military units have incorporated the Prince of Wales's feather into their badges. The feathers are featured on the cap badge of the Royal Welsh, an amalgamation of three Welsh regiments, the Royal Welch Fusiliers, the Royal Regiment of Wales and the Territorial Army's Royal Welsh Regiment. The badge of the Royal Navy's also incorporates the Prince of Wales's feathers. Other British military units that incorporate the Prince of Wales's feathers into their badge(s) include:
2 Squadron Honourable Artillery Company (squadron badge) Cheshire Yeomanry Princess of Wales' Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires) (cap badge) Royal Marines Band Service Commando Training Centre Lympstone (cap badge) Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (Militia) (cap badge) Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry (Prince of Wales's Own) (cap badge) Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys) (arm badge)
The badge also appears as an element on the regimental badges of several military units in other countries of the Commonwealth of Nations, which have a historical connection with the Prince of Wales. These include: 4th/19th Prince of Wales's Light Horse of the Australian Army Princess of Wales' Own Regiment of the Canadian Army Royal Regiment of Canada of the Canadian Army Sri Lanka Light Infantry of the Sri Lanka Army
The Rashtriya Indian Military College, an 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 uniform badge of lord-lieutenants in Welsh lieutenancies uses the Prince-of-Wales feathers to differentiate its lord-lieutenants from lord-lieutenants in other counties.
Former
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 (The Prince of Wales'), 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 (Prince of Wales' Own). The 92nd (Prince of Wales's Own) Punjabis, a former British Indian Army unit, also incorporated the feather badge into its own design.
A single Prince of Wales's feather was also incorporated into the badge of . Norfolk was decommissioned in 2005.
Coinage
During the English Civil War, most coins minted by Charles I at his various provincial wartime mints carry the feathers. The feathers appear on these coins because Charles I had no access to the Royal Mint in London and instead transferred the Aberystwyth Mint (originally established to coin Welsh silver) to Shrewsbury and then Oxford as an emergency measure. All the Civil War provincial mints are therefore in effect sub-branches of the Aberystwyth mint.
The badge appeared on the reverse of the British two pence coins minted between 1971 and 2008, many of which remain in circulation. The badge appears as a provenance mark on those silver coins minted using Welsh-mined silver in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Sports
Surrey County Cricket Club were granted permission in 1915 to use the feathers for their badge. Their home ground, The Oval, is on land owned by the Duchy of Cornwall.
The feathers appear on the badge of Wrexham Association Football Club.
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), and the Oxford University Rifle Club (OURC).
Welsh Rugby