In 1301, Edward I granted the royal lands in Wales to his eldest surviving son, Edward, with the title of Prince of Wales. Edward's principality consisted of the three northern shires carved out of Llewelyn's northern heartland (Anglesey, Caernarfon and Merioneth), and two shires (Pembroke and Cardigan) created from lordships previously conquered in the south-west. It did not include the marcher lordships.
After this, the principality of Wales was either held by the monarch or granted to the heir apparent. Princes of Wales were not resident in Wales, and were extremely rare visitors to it. Usually, the central administration of local officers and estates was carried out by the prince's council, from Westminster. From the 1470s, the prince's council expanded to include responsibility for the marches of Wales and moved to Ludlow. Under Henry VIII, this council developed into the Council in the Marches of Wales, not dependent upon a Prince of Wales.
