2. What assessment has the Welsh Government made of the impact of the Acts of Union 1535-42 on the Welsh constitution? OAQ51493

May I thank you for your question? In any assessment of current or proposed constitutional arrangements or developments in Wales, at the forefront of the Welsh Government’s assessment is the law that is in force at the relevant time, and whilst of great historical importance, the Acts of Union have now been repealed.

Thank you very much for that response. I’ve been waiting five centuries to ask this question, of course, and I’m glad to have an answer from the Counsel General—that’s the purpose of having these sessions with him. But what happened with the Acts of Union was that the principality of Wales was abolished, and as Wales became part of England, to all intents and purposes, and was under the English Crown, the principality of Wales was abolished. Now, therefore, any talk of a principality in the context of a Welsh constitution is only some sort of romantic fantasy, and a royalist fantasy, indeed.

Will you, therefore—coming back to current times—as Counsel General, on behalf of the Welsh Government, pledge to this Assembly that you will never use the word ‘principality’ in referring to the constitutional status of Wales?

Well, I had an opportunity, as a result of the question, to remind myself of the effect of the Acts and laws of the Middle Ages in Wales—the Member will be pleased to hear that—including the decisions made by the Aberdyfi council and the Rhuddlan judgments, and as Dai Lloyd mentioned to me yesterday, just to remind myself of the laws of Hywel Dda. I haven't managed to do that in the short time that I've had since then, unfortunately. But on the specific question that you asked, with regard to the issue of the principality, the fact is that Wales is a nation in its own right, as part of the United Kingdom. It has its own legislature and an elected Government that legislate and create policies that are appropriate for the people of Wales. The question of a principality isn’t part of Welsh Government policy. I can’t make any further comment on personal comments that may have been made recently.