Prince Charles has paid a heartfelt tribute to his former tutor, who has died at the age of 89. Edward ‘Tedi’ Millward taught Charles the Welsh language before his investiture as the Prince of Wales more than 50 years ago. In a statement, Charles said: "I am deeply saddened to hear of Dr Millward’s death. I have very fond memories of my time in Aberystwyth with Dr Millward over fifty-one years ago. While I am afraid I might not have been the best student, I learned an immense amount from him about the Welsh language and about the history of Wales. After all these years, I am forever grateful to him for helping foster my deep and abiding love for Wales, her people and her culture. I send my most heartfelt sympathy to his family."
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The lessons between Charles and Dr Millward were once featured in series three of The Crown. The episode – entitled Tywysog Cymru, which means Prince of Wales in Welsh – saw Dr Millward portrayed by actor Mark Lewis Jones. Millward's daughter, London-based singer Llio Millward, confirmed his death on Facebook on Monday evening and recalled her father's lessons with Charles.
She wrote: "In 1969 Dad was asked to teach Prince Charles to speak Welsh and he accepted this role in the hope that it would be an opportunity to enlighten an important member of the English establishment about the plight of the language and the unique and valuable culture that the Welsh language is a part of.
© Photo: PAPrince Charles studied the Welsh language with Dr Edward Millward in Aberystwyth
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"Dad has always said that during those private seminars Charles was a sensitive, intelligent and open-minded young man and I believe they developed a mutual respect for one another. This of course was dramatised on Netflix The Crown and I am grateful to the actor Mark Lewis Jones for the grace and gravitas he brought to his beautiful portrayal of my father."
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