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In 1969, nearly 30 years ago, Prince Charles, the oldest son of Queen Elizabeth, became Prince of Wales. He was 20 years old.
The Principality of Wales is part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain. It's a small country, only 21 000 square kilometres which is a quarter the size of Scotland. Its population is just under 3 million.
Wales is a country of hills and mountains. The highest mountains are in Snowdonia in the north-west, the highest peak is Mount Snowdon which is 1085 metres above sea level. Two thirds of the population live in the southern lowlands, in the valleys and in the coastal areas. The main towns are Cardiff, the capital, Newport and Wrexham. Wales has its own language, Welsh, a musical language which is very different from English. Many people say that it is a very difficult language to learn. When Prince Charles became Prince of Wales he had a private teacher to teach him Welsh. 19% of the population speak Welsh and most Welsh speakers live in the north and the west. In Wales, Welsh is an official language, it has equal validity with English in law courts, and there is bilingual education in Welsh schools. There is also a Welsh television channel and Welsh language radio programmes. Wales does not have its own Parliament, but there are 38 Members of Parliament in Wales and they sit in the Houses of Parliament in London. There is also a Cabinet Minister who is the Minister for Wales. At the beginning of the 20th Century Wales was a very important producer of coal, iron and steel but in the last 30 years these industries have become less important although nowadays Wales still produces one third of Britain's steel. Today Wales is an important centre for electronics and for high-tech industries. Agriculture is also important and over 80% of the land is used for farming, mainly for sheep and cattle. Welsh lamb is famous all over the world. Wales is also well-known for literature, music and drama. Welsh literature is one of the oldest in Europe. Above all the Welsh people love music, particularly choral singing - nearly every village has its own choir and the standard is very high. |