Caernarfon Castle is an enormous medieval fortress and palace, with iconic polygonal towers, built from the late 13th century on the orders of Edward I as part of his strategy to subjugate the Welsh. It was constructed on the banks of the River Seiont on the site of an earlier Norman castle and close to where a Roman fortress had once stood. Indeed, its design is said to have echoes of imperial Roman architecture, particularly the walls of Constantinople. The castle and town became the English administrative HQ for North Wales and was besieged many times – and captured too. Caernarfon Castle was allowed to fall into a state of disrepair with the coming of the Tudor dynasty, as tensions between English and Welsh eased a little. Nonetheless, it was occupied by Royalist forces during the Civil War of the 17th century and besieged three times by Parliamentarian forces – the last time the castle was used in war. After that, it was largely neglected until the 19th century when the government paid for some repairs. The castle was for the scene for the investiture of the Prince of Wales in 1911, the future Edward VIII, and in 1969, the future Charles III, when the ceremony was televised.
Caernarfon Castle is part of the World Heritage Site “Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd”.Â
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