Caernarvon Castle - A Symbol of Kingly Power in a Country Full of Castles

King Edward I, known as Longshanks, ringed Wales with castles, in the 13th century, as a way of subduing the rebellious Welsh and cementing English power over them. He intended Caernarvon Castle to be a Royal residence and the seat of his government in North Wales. The first Prince of Wales was born there in 1284. The latest, HRH Prince Charles, was invested at Caernarvon in 1969 in a ceremony televised around the world.

Caernarvon is the finest of Edward's many castles, still standing, all over Wales. But Edward's castles are only part of the remarkable number of castles you can visit in Wales, from prehistoric strongholds and Norman Castles to the fortresses of Welsh princes. Here are some others worth seeing:

• Visiting the Castles of Wales
• Carreg Cennen, An Imposing, Clifftop Ruin
• Medieval Beaumaris Castle