Edward I and Eleanor of Castile arrived at Caernarfon around July 1283 and stayed for more than a month to monitor the early works. They returned several times as construction progressed. Edward II is reported to have been born at Caernarfon in April. His appointment as Prince of Wales in 1301 gave the seventeen-year-old authority over Wales and access to its revenues. The arrangement is interpreted as an attempt to give the heir experience of government, with a skeptical aside about how well that education worked. It also connects Caernarfon with the subsequent practice of giving the heir the title Prince of Wales.
Notable Point · 30:37-31:46
Royal visits and the Prince of Wales
Royal visits, Edward II's reported birth at Caernarfon, and his appointment as Prince of Wales connect the castle with dynastic government.