The Official Harpist to the Prince of Wales is a position within the Royal Household. In 2000, King Charles III, the then Prince of Wales, revived a tradition of having Welsh harpists, which was the first time the post has been occupied since it was last granted to John Thomas in 1871 by Queen Victoria.
The harp is an important national instrument in Wales, and although the role of Official Harpist was discontinued during the reign of Queen Victoria, the Prince of Wales restored the position in 2000 in order to foster and encourage young musical talent in Wales and the UK and to raise the profile of the harp as an instrument.
On 5 July 2006, the Prince of Wales was presented with a £150,000 gold leaf harp from harp maker Victor Salvi of the Italian harp makers Salvi Harps. The harp is used by the official harpist.[1]
List of official harpists
edit- John Thomas, 1871
- Catrin Finch, 2000 to 2004[2]
- Jemima Phillips, 2004 to 2007[2]
- Claire Jones, 2007 to 2011[3][4]
- Hannah Stone, 2011 to 2015[4][5][6]
- Anne Denholm, 2015 to 2019[7]
- Alis Huws, 2019 - 2024 [8]
- Mared Emyr Pugh-Evans, 2024 onwards [9]
References
edit- ^ "TRH continue their annual tour of Wales". Prince of Wales website. 2006-07-05. Retrieved 2014-01-27.
- ^ a b "HRH appoints a new official harpist from Wales". Prince of Wales website. 2004-07-14. Retrieved 2014-01-27.
- ^ "Claire Jones to become new Official Harpist to HRH The Prince of Wales" (Press release). Prince of Wales website. 27 June 2011. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
- ^ a b "Prince Charles visits mid Wales and unveils new harpist". BBC News. 27 June 2011. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
- ^ "Hannah Stone becomes new official Harpist to HRH The Prince of Wales" (Press release). Prince of Wales website. 27 June 2011. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
- ^ Ward, Victoria (8 July 2015). "Royal harpist who ran off with opera singer is replaced". The Telegraph. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
- ^ "Anne Denholm appointed as Prince of Wales' royal harpist". BBC News. 8 July 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
- ^ "New royal harpist for Prince of Wales Alis Huws is 'delighted'". BBC News. 2 July 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
- ^ "Presenting the King's Harpist: RWCMD grad Mared Pugh-Evans". Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama.