Return to sender – a salutary tale.
A Salutary Tale
Prince of Wales feathers or Fleur de Lys? These two symbols that are interchangeable- so I thought – however from a bit of research I find it is a common mistake. Both form the same overall shape and stem from a central bejeweled coronet and are used in heraldry. But that is where the similarity of the two stops.
Did you know we hold a Prince of Wales feather in our pocket every day; the two pence coin? Many are still in circulation.
I am going to flesh this out a bit now. The Fleur-de-Lys is based on a lily and stems (excuse the pun) from the court of the French monarchs. It also forms the symbol for the scouts and in Mauritius it holds a sinister context. Slaves were marked with this symbol if they tried to escape.
The Prince of Wales’s feathers, along with the leek is also an adopted symbol of Wales, and of the Welsh Rugby Union; although Ich Dien doesn’t feature.
BUT this isn’t the logo of our native Welsh Prince but from Edward, the Black Prince in 1330-1376.
As Alice in Wonderland says…’curiouser and curiouser…’
Where do the feathers come in then? Ostrich feathers were an Egyptian symbol of strength and purity and were often found in children’s graves- a symbol of re-birth. They were first adopted and used in European French court in 1486.
Minted coins have an Aberystwyth connection too. Wiki says,’ During Charles I times, feathers appeared on coins because, Charles I didn’t have access to the Royal Mint. He therefore transferred the mint to Shrewsbury and Oxford. There is a mosaic below the war memorial on Aberystwyth seafront showing the coins being minted.
Why was my mosaic returned to sender? I decide to make a gift for HRH Prince Charles KG, KT, GOB, OM – and send it to Clarence House, only to have my package returned to sender! Perhaps it is because of coronavirus restrictions or that he does not accept gifts. A little surprised by this rebuff, I consequently read online that there was a big clamp down on the usage of the Prince of Wales feathers. (Wales Online November 2018) It appears that letters were sent from Buckingham Palace (2007) asking businesses not to use the logo. The logo is the personal property of The Prince and is protected from misuse.
Ah, I may have offended him anyway, should he have accepted my gift. My desire was that this mosaic stayed in Wales and I still aim to achieve this. If you have a business or Royal warrant, I would like to gift this to you; all I ask is that you pay for the postage. Just contact me.
aberdabbadoo 