Memory Lane: Crowds flock to Caernarfon for royal visit

Apr 28 2011 by Kevin White, Caernarfon and Denbigh Herald

WITH one North Wales based royal couple preparing for their wedding, the Herald looks back to 1962, when Princess Margaret and her new husband the Earl of Snowdon, made waves on a visit to Caernarfonshire.

The Queen’s sister was no stranger to Caernarfon during her marriage to the Earl, with stories of her visits to the area, and her husband’s family home at Plas Dinas, commonplace.

Many locals of a certain age have a tale of how they saw the Princess driving around in a convertible, or how they met her at a function, but May 16, 1962, heralded the first official royal visit by the couple, and their first to Plas Dinas since their wedding in 1960.

The couple were in Caernarfonshire on a two day tour to open the £2.5m state of the art Ferodo factory at Griffiths Crossing, and also took in a visit to Caernarfon Castle, the Dinorwic slate quarries, and the Bryncir Woollen Mill.

The Herald began its coverage a month before the visit, with a detailed run-down of their itinerary - which included a stay at Plas Dinas with the Earl’s father, Ronald Armstrong Jones QC, and their arrival at RAF Valley.

The mayor of Caernarfon, cllr D W Jones, promised a “Croeso Cymreig” for the couple, and a pledge to spend £110 on decorations for the town’s main streets, with the route from the factory to Caernarfon Castle closed to other traffic for most of the day.

Their visit to the Bryncir Woollen Mills prompted a full page feature on what they should expect - with a profile of the mill workers who would meet the Princess, while the tale of how a commemorative 12-ton block of stone which was installed on the Ferodo site, was told in great depth, including how it was sourced, engraved, and moved to the site, with the aid of a massive 20-ton crane.

The week of the visit saw Caernarfon “rise up in welcome” of the royal couple, under the headline “Princess is ‘Home’ - ‘Dyma Hi! Dyma Hi!’

Flag waving children lined the streets throughout Caernarfon as the Princess made her way to the castle, and she remained close to Cofi hearts for the next decade.

Her regular visits to North Wales became rarer as her marriage ran into difficulties, and she divorced the Earl of Snowdon in 1978. Extensive health problems eventually took their toll on the Princess, and she died, aged 71, in 2002. The Earl of Snowdon, now in his eighties, lives in London and has carved out a successful career in his own right, as one of the most influential photographers of the past 60 years.

kevin.white