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Situated on the South Wales coast immediately to the east of the Gower Peninsula, Swansea is the second largest city in Wales. It grew to its present size during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, becoming a centre of heavy industry. It never experienced, however, the same degree of immigration as Cardiff, Newport and the eastern valleys of South Wales.
The founder of Swansea is believed to be the Viking King of Denmark Sweyn Forkbeard who in 1013 conquered the Anglo-Saxons of Wessex and Mercia, and who controlled a vast empire including Southern England, Denmark and Norway. The earliest known form of the modern name is Sweynesse used in Swansea's first charter, which was granted sometime between 1158-1184 by William de Newburgh, 3rd Earl of Warwick. The charter gave Swansea the status of a borough, granting the townsmen, called burgesses certain rights to develop the area. A second charter was granted in 1215 by King John. In this charter, the name appears as Sweyneshe. The town seal which is believed to date from this period names the town as Sweyse. Swansea was granted city status in 1969, to mark Prince Charles's investiture as the Prince of Wales. The announcement was made by the prince on July 3, 1969, during a tour of Wales. It obtained the further right to have a Lord Mayor in 1982.