A principality can either be a monarchical feudatory or a sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a monarch with the title of prince or by a monarch with another title considered to fall under the generic meaning of the term prince. Most of these states have been a polity, but in some occasions were rather territories in respect of which a princely title is held; the prince's estate and wealth may be located or wholly outside the geographical confines of the principality. Recognised surviving sovereign principalities are Liechtenstein and the co-principality of Andorra. Extant royal primogenitures styled as principalities include Asturias; the Principality of Wales existed in the northern and western areas of Wales between the 13th and 16th centuries. Since that time, the title Prince of Wales has traditionally been granted to the heir to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom, but it confers no responsibilities for government in Wales, it is one of four countries in the United Kingdom.

The Principality of Catalonia existed in the north-eastern areas of Spain between 14th and 18th centuries, as the term for the territories ruled by the Catalan courts, until the defeat of the Habsburgs in the Spanish succession war, when these institutions were abolished due to their support for the Habsburg pretender. Principality of Asturias is the official name of autonomous community of Asturias; the term principality is sometimes used generically for any small monarchy for small sovereign states ruled by a monarch of a lesser rank than a king, such as a Fürst, as in Liechtenstein, or a Grand Duke. No sovereign duchy exists, but Luxembourg is a surviving example of a sovereign grand duchy. There have been sovereign principalities with many styles of ruler, such as Countship and Lordship within the Holy Roman Empire. While the preceding definition would seem to fit a princely state the European historical tradition is to reserve that word for native monarchies in colonial countries, to apply "principality" to the Western monarchies.

Though principalities existed in antiquity before the height of the Roman Empire, the principality as it is known today developed in the Middle Ages between 750 and 1450 when feudalism was the primary economic and social system in much of Europe. Feudalism increased the power of local princes within a king's lands; as princes continued to gain more power over time, the authority of the king was diminished in many places. This led to political fragmentation as the king's lands were broken into mini-states ruled by princes and dukes who wielded absolute power over their small territories; this was prevalent in Europe, with the Princes of the Holy Roman Empire. During the Late Middle Ages from 1200 to 1500, principalities were at war with each other as royal houses asserted sovereignty over smaller principalities; these wars caused. Episodes of bubonic plague reduced the power of principalities to survive independently. Agricultural progress and development of new trade goods and services boosted commerce between principalities.

Many of these states became wealthy, expanded their territories and improved the services provided to their citizens. Princes and dukes established new ports and chartered large thriving cities; some used their new-found wealth to build palaces and other institutions now associated with sovereign states. While some principalities prospered in their independence, less successful states were swallowed by stronger royal houses. Europe saw consolidation of small principalities into larger empires; this had happened in England in the first millennium, this trend subsequently led to the creation of such states as France and Spain. Another form of consolidation was orchestrated in Italy during the Renaissance by the Medici family. A banking family from Florence, the Medici took control of governments in various Italian regions and assumed the papacy, they appointed family members as princes and assured their protection. Prussia later expanded by acquiring the territories of many other states. However, in the 17th to 19th centuries within the Holy Roman Empire, the reverse was occurring: many new small sovereign states arose as a result of transfers of land for various reasons.

Notable principalities existed until the early 20th century in various regions of Italy. Nationalism, the belief that the nation-state is the best vehicle to realise the aspirations of a people, became popular in the late 19th century. A characteristic of nationalism is an identity with a larger region such as an area sharing a common language and culture. With this development, principalities fell out of favour; as a compromise, many principalities united with neighbouring regions and adopted constitutional forms of government, with the monarch acting as a mere figurehead while administration was left in the hands of elected parliaments. The trend in the 19th and 20th centuries was the abolition of various forms of monarchy and the creation of republican governments led by popularly elected presidents. Several principalities where genealogical inheritance is replaced by succession in a religious office have existed in the Roman Catholic Church, in each case consisting o

107 Meridian FM is a community radio station broadcasting to the West Sussex town of East Grinstead and its surrounding area. The station, a non-profit organisation, is run by around 100 unpaid volunteers and made its first 28-day restricted service licence broadcast in December 2006, followed by a couple more in May and December 2007. Limited to two restricted service licence broadcasts each year, Meridian FM was awarded a full-time community radio licence by Ofcom in July 2009; the station continued to stream over the internet via its website, whilst raising funds for the additional equipment needed for broadcast. In February 2010, Ofcom inspected and approved the studios and transmission equipment, 107 Meridian FM started broadcasting over 107Mhz FM on 1 March 2010 at 7am GMT. In early 2015, Ofcom approved the renewal of 107 Meridian FM's broadcast license until 2020; the studios were located in East Court Mansion together with the East Grinstead Town Council offices, but moved to the Jubilee Community Centre in Charlwoods Road in January 2010.

The station took its name from the Greenwich Prime Meridian. It is unconnected with television broadcaster ITV Meridian; the station is funded by membership fees, donations and sponsorship from local and national businesses. In 2016, The Business Show won a Bronze Award for Community Radio Show of the Year at the Community Radio Awards. Meridian FM features an hourly national news bulletin, provided by Radio NewsHub, local news and weather, travel updates and local events guides. 107 Meridian FM Website

Mountfields is an area in Shrewsbury, just north of the Welsh Bridge. Famous for pubs and brothels frequented by barge pullers after being paid on Frankwell Quay, Mountfields is now better known for Shrewsbury's Theatre Severn, pop-up restaurants that refuse to advertise their existence, street parties and the Annual Frankwell Rounders Match, a community event that has run for nearly 20 years. Artist Ann McCay has a studio there. Mountfields forms part of the Frankwell area and has a rich history, much of which relates to the original Welsh Bridge which crossed the Severn opposite the medieval street'Mardol', 70m upstream from the current bridge; the quayside, from which a shanty-type industrial area known as'Frankwell Forge' was regretfully cleared in 2004, still houses'The Stew', a derelict building named after a nearby brothel, the area's only remaining link with the town's history as a river port. The Stew has notoriously been trapped in planning controversies regarding renovation since 2004.

Occasional Mountifields happenings are thought to be organised by the secretive Tim Cooke, one of the originators of the Anarcho-CinderPunk movement, Guy Holmes, who as a community psychologist became well-known for Psychology in the Real World events. Their'Hats on/Hats off' party famously disturbed the 2017 Shrewsbury Folk Festival; the Darwin Trail passes through Mountfields, following the River Severn along the track used by the barge pullers, from the theatre to Charles Darwin's childhood home on The Mount. It passes through fields, his father Robert Darwin and mother Susannah Wedgwood built the house on land earmarked for Shrewsbury prison. They constructed a'thinking path' from the house down to the river and encouraged Charles and his siblings to utilise this and become'self-educated', recognising the defects in education provided by private schools with their bullying and perverse norms and treatment of children as empty vessels needing to be filled with unconnected facts. In 2014 Shropshire Wildlife Trust purchased and attempted to renovate the overgrown, overpriced slope that the Thinking Path winds through