Cross of Wales
The Cross of Wales is a silver processional cross made at the request of King Charles III as a gift to the Church in Wales to mark its centenary. It contains two tiny relics of the True Cross given by Pope Francis. The cross led the procession into Westminster Abbey for the coronation of Charles III and Queen Camilla on 6 May 2023.
It was announced in 2021 as a gift from Charles (then Prince of Wales) to the Anglican Church in Wales. It was blessed on 19 April 2023 by Archbishop of Wales Andy John at Holy Trinity Church, Llandudno. After the coronation, the cross will be formally handed to the Church in Wales and its use will be shared with the Catholic Church in Wales as a symbol of cooperation between the two groups.
The cross was commissioned by the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths and designed and made by silversmith Michael Lloyd, with input from the Royal Collection. It draws on medieval Welsh art and was made using chased silver, a process that involved about 267,000 hammer blows. The silver comes from recycled bullion from the Royal Mint in Llantrisant, and the cross was hallmarked by the London Assay Office. Charles III added the Royal Mark in November 2022 at Goldsmiths’ Hall.
On the back is Welsh text from Saint David’s last sermon: “Byddwch lawen. Cadwch y ffydd. Gwnewch y Pethau Bychain” (“Be joyful. Keep the faith. Do the little things”). The cross sits on a shaft carved from wind-fallen Welsh timber and has a stand of Welsh slate. At its center is a reliquary with two tiny True Cross relics, arranged in a cross shape, measuring about 10 mm and 5 mm.
The relics were given by Pope Francis to mark Charles’s coronation. The shaft was made by Darren Crisp from three pieces of Welsh oak. The Cross was officially handed to Archbishop Andrew John on 25 January 2024, the feast of St Dwynwen, the Welsh patron saint of lovers.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 03:05 (CET).