Welsh folk singer Dafydd Iwan has claimed that he was the target of a fake plot to kill Prince Charles just before the investiture of Charles as Prince of Wales in 1969. Iwan, known for campaigning for Welsh independence, has described it as a “pathetic” attempt to lure him into the alleged coup by an “agent provocateur”, whom he described as looking like a character from a “B-movie”. The sixty-six-year-old makes the claim in his latest memoirs.
His controversial song, Carlo, which mocked the prince, was high in the Welsh charts at the time of the investiture. Prior to the event, Iwan had been campaigning for the Welsh language as part of the Cymdeithas yr laith Gymraeg. The following year, he was sentenced to serve time in prison after he refused to pay fines as a result of defacing English-only road signs.
Iwan claimed that the UK government at the time was using “unnecessarily heavy-handed methods to carry out their surveillance” while there was controversy surrounding the investiture. The singer was allegedly warned of an attempt on his life by police who then provided him with protection. Iwan stated that he had never set eyes on the man urging him to participate in the coup before and never saw him again.
Throughout his life, Iwan has performed many songs about his beloved Welsh language and was also Plaid Cymru president. Despite becoming increasingly well known for the Welsh football fan favourite, Yma o Hyd (We’re Still Here), Iwan still contends that Welsh independence is highly necessary. Dafydd Iwan: Still Singing Yma o Hyd is published by Y Lolfa
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