Second Severn Crossing to be renamed The Prince of Wales bridge

The newest bridge across the River Severn linking Wales and England is to lose its rather factually-based title and will be renamed later this year.

More than twenty years after it was opened to traffic, the Second Severn Crossing will be renamed The Prince of Wales Bridge.

The renaming will be officially marked at an event in south Wales later this year.

The crossing, opened by The Prince of Wales in 1996, will mark his 70th birthday year, and will also mark the 60th anniversary of The Queen ‘creating’ him at the closing ceremony of the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Cardiff in 1958.

Now known as the Commonwealth Games, this year’s competition was officially opened by The Prince of Wales on behalf of The Queen on the Gold Coast, Australia.

Read more: Scrapping tolls could 'improve living standards' in Wales

Labour MP Jo Stevens criticised the announcement saying the Tories should be "addressing the important issues facing people in Wales."

By ITV News' Royal Editor Chris Ship:

The announcement is a fitting tribute to His Royal Highness in a year that sees him mark 60 years as The Prince of Wales and decades of continued, dedicated service to our nation.

The announcement comes in the year that the tolls to use the Severn Crossings will be abolished by the UK Government.

The bridge was built to the south of the original Severn Bridge which was opened by the Queen in 1966.

The renaming will coincide with Prince Charles’ 70th birthday and the 60th year since he was ‘created’ the Prince of Wales by his mother, The Queen.

It is the traditional title given to the male heir apparent in the British Monarchy.

The soon-to-be Prince of Wales Bridge carries traffic on the M4 between Bristol and Newport.

At the end of the year, the tolls, which currently cost £5.60 for cars, will be abolished.

However, there have been criticisms that the government in Westminster - which operates the crossing - has been too slow to remove the tolls.