Mark Drakeford is being mysterious.

He says he has spoken to Prince William, the new Prince of Wales and now heir to the throne, but they didn’t discuss the question of whether there would be a formal investiture.

The First Minister did say he thought it wouldn’t be “right” to hold a ceremony which mirrored the 1969 Caernarfon investiture of the then Prince Charles.

But what did that mean? We can but guess. Certainly, Mark did nothing to clarify things by adding: “The Wales of 2022 is very different to the Wales of 1969. I don’t think looking back at that event and thinking of it as some sort of pattern that you would wish to pick up and copy, I don’t think that would be the right way to go about things.”

Why not? Does he have in mind how Caernarfon polarised opinion in Wales, against a background of protests and bombings, and that any risk of repetition of anything like that must be quite definitely avoided?

Or is he simply saying that the advent of Senedd Cymru overshadows, for all practical purposes, the turmoil of July 1969? Or perhaps even that he believes present-day Wales thinks less, or with less fervour, about the nation’s first Senedd, or about Owain Glyndŵr, its last Welsh Prince of Wales, and about the succession of English princes given the title in the 600 years-plus since the turbulent and bloody days of the early 15th century?

The answer to this last will depend partly on how much importance Mark Drakeford gives to the 20,000-plus signatures attached to the current petition calling for an end to the use of the title.

However, if the First Minister isn’t being clear, Dafydd El is. That comes as no surprise given that, as a member of the House of Lords, Dafydd Elis Thomas knows all about bestowed privilege. He says it “makes no sense for a democratic nation like Wales to have a prince”.

The former Plaid Cymru leader adds: “There is no meaning to it in the constitution. And I think, even though it won’t happen this time, that this title will disappear because it doesn’t make any sense for a devolved and democratic nation like Wales to have a prince these days.”

Logically, that can’t be faulted. But then there’s the human factor. By and large, Wales clearly liked Charles, and took as authentic his interest in, and affection for, Wales; and people will in all likelihood take to William, and will not object to his new title.

In 2018, a BBC Wales poll found 57 per cent of people in the country supported, and 27 per cent opposed, the passing on of the Prince of Wales title when Charles became king, compared with 73 per cent in favour in 1999.

In 2018, an investiture for William similar to 1969’s was backed by 31 per cent (compared with 58 per cent in 2009), with 27 per cent opposed and 18 per cent wanting a diff­erent kind of investiture.

So, four years ago the indication was of a slow waning of support for these aspects of the monarchy, and Wales may well be interested in keeping a finger on its pulse of national opinion.

Having foisted their new broadband-dependent phones on isolated uplands of north Ceredigion where they simply don’t work, they’re now trying to tell the unfortunate households concerned that the new tech will give them a superb service.

‘Digital Voice is coming soon’, latest bills from the super-profitable multinational announce, as if trailing a blockbuster. “As part of a nationwide effort to bring you a better home phone service, we’re upgrading all the old copper phone networks to Digital Voice by 2025… If you have a burglar alarm or medical pendant, this is a good time to tell your provider about the switch.” So now you know: no service is a “better” service.

This follows BT’s outrageous warning sent out with the new devices: “You will not be able to call 999 (or any other numbers) from this phone if there is a cut in the electricity supply or if there are broadband problems.”

Ceredigion MS Elin Jones has referred to vagueness about “any back-up solutions”, adding: “We need to have BT and Ofcom out in these communities providing advice and assurances to everybody that it can be done by 2025.” She must be more forthright, and insist that BT guarantees continuation of the dependable landline system for otherwise highly vulnerable rural areas.

Oxfam is supposed to be about working to overcome poverty and suffering. So why is it wasting untold thousands tarting up its Aberystwyth bookshop when the place was perfectly all right as it was?

I asked the charity whether it, or the owner of the freehold on its North Parade outlet, was paying for the refurbishment, which has seen the shop temporarily shut its doors. Will Oxfam donors, including people buying books from this very good little shop, be putting money in the pocket of the owner of the building through enhancement of its market value?

No reply on these salient points; just anodyne stuff about the shop being “long overdue a refresh” and that energy-efficient lights are being fitted. Tell that to the world’s destitute.