Celtic Princes of Wales from Gwynedd

The family tree of Gruffudd ap Cynan, King of Gwynedd, King of the Welsh, and his royal descendants claimed the original Celtic (native) title of Prince of Wales, era circa 1137-1283. And also the effects of the Norman invasion on Wales' royalty (Wikipedia articles linked).

The original Princes of Wales were not of English or French origins as presumed from the investiture of the first Prince of Wales, Edward I of England in 1301, that is the history taught as common knowledge today. There is a different history of the Princes, an obscure origins story starting in the 11th century. Those original Princes of Wales were Welsh monarchs from respective Kingdoms within the borders of Wales who claimed Celtic ancestry and then newly mixed with Viking blood (Northern European). The era of the native (Celtic) Princes of Wales officially began just before 1165, and then continued sporadically for 200 years until the death of the hereditary male line lineal successor of the Aberffraw dynasty, Owain Lawgoch in 1378. In Latin, they were called Princeps Walliarum. The Welsh of Gwynedd started a title that was taken over by foreigners in the 14th century and has since been held by 23 successors over 700 years as of 2023. It was during the foundation of the House of Tudor in the late 15th century that the Welsh descendants of Llywelyn the Great (d. 1240) intermarried with the English monarchs, thus forming a genealogical link between the Celtic Welsh Princes and English Anglo-Saxon Kings. These English Princes of Wales today also claim German ancestry from the Royal House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, and the current Prince is William Mountbatten-Windsor. Mountbatten is a German name derived from the Battenberg family, and Windsor is named after an English castle. William himself is also a descendant of the self-proclaimed pretender Prince of the 15th century, Owain Glyndwr, by the way of an Anglo-Dutch family, via a Scottish Earldom (Cavendish-Bentinck), and through marriage into the British Royal family during the 20th century.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, attributed to Sodacan, Coat of Arms of Aberffraw and Llywelyn I.

Family tree of the Celtic Princes of Wales.

The key is '|' generation, '-' for a sibling, '=' for marriage, and underline for listed Prince of Wales; official or unofficial (note: Owain to Iorwerth is 1 generation).

                         Bleddyn ap Cynfyn (d.1075) 

                                       |

                                 Cadwgan

Gruffudd ap Cynan        | 

|                                 Madog     

Owain - Gwenllian        |

|                |                 Meurig 

|             Lord Rhys       =

Iorweth - Dafydd  I - Gwenllian - Cynan

|                                                        |                

Llywelyn I (1173-1240)              Maerdudd 

|                                                        |

Gruffudd - Dafydd II                    Llywelyn 

|                                                        |

Rhodri - Llywelyn II - Dafydd III  Maerdudd

|                                                        |

Thomas                                         Llywelyn

|                                                        |

Owain Lawgoch (d. 1378)          Madog

The native (Celtic) Prince of Wales family tree is explained by the direct line of succession of Gruffudd ap Cynan. In some sources, Gruffudd is considered a Prince of Wales (Tywysog Cymru), but officially only a King of multiple Welsh Kingdoms (Ceredigion, Dyffryn Clwyd, Gwynedd Meirionnydd), and all members were descended from the Kingdom of Gwynedd and the House of Aberffraw in Gwynedd, except Lord Rhys (Rhys ap Gruffudd) who was from the House of Dinefwr in Deheubarth, but a descendant of Aberffraw. The royal title in the list applies to Welsh monarchs of Welsh Kingdoms, not including the current day English title of the monarch England (1301-), whose heir apparent (1st inline) is the Prince of Wales, and Duke of Cornwall, Duke of Rothesay amongst other lesser titles. However, before the official title of Prince of Wales, there were predecessors to Owain Gwynedd. The space of Wales was once inherited by the King of Powys and Gwynedd, Bleddyn ap Cynfyn (d. 1075). Bleddyn gained Wales as its territory in use today from his half-brother, Gruffudd ap Llywelyn who in turn was King of Wales in 1055 until his assassination ordered by Harold King of England in 1063. For a brief period, Bleddyn inherited all of Wales as a country and a respective Prince of his realm, controversially making him the first Prince of Wales, but unofficially, as he was never formally acknowledged by the English crown as the ruler of all of Wales after his brother in law died, nor did he claim to own the possession of the land as a country through inheritance. Instead, the spoils of war were shared after the King of Wales' death, Bleddyn and his brother Rhiwallon shared Gwynedd and Powys (North Wales), whilst the south was given with the House of Dinefwr by the King of England. Bleddyn would go on to found the House of Mathrafal, a dynasty that would rule Wales once again under Prince Owain Glyndwr in the 15th century. The rest of the family tree (known ad Aberffraw senior line) is of Gruffudd's immediate descendants and heirs in the 12th and 13th centuries. Owain Gwynedd was the first to officially call himself Prince of Wales (Walliarum Princeps in Latin). Owain was bestowed the title of Prince by the Angevin King Henry II as a peace accord, and he used the title in correspondence during 1165 with Louis II King of France. Owain was also considered the final King of Wales (Rex Waliae written in Latin).

The title of Prince officially passed to Owain Gwynedd's grandson, Llywleyn I, and then to Dafydd II, who self-proclaimed himself without the authorisation of the English crown. Then, Dafydd II's nephew Llywelyn II. Llywelyn ap Iorwerth (I, the Great) was granted the title of Prince by King Henry III of England in 1218 at a treaty in Worcester, this was after his declaration post expedition of Wales in 1215 where he conquered all the lands of Wales. He was also supported by the Kingdom of France and the Pope (Innocent III)in the Vatican. The conquest affected mostly descendants of Norman Marcher Lords, but also his own Welsh kin in some cases. Llywelyn I proclaimed his ascension at a treaty with his fellow Welsh Princes at Aberdyfi in 1216. This was after his confirmation in 1215 in the signing of the Magna Carta with the English barons against his father-in-law, King John of England. The next confirmed Prince of Wales from the King of England, and last officially bestowed was Llywelyn II, Llywelyn ap Iorwerth 's grandson. He was granted the lands of the whole of Wales at a treaty in Montgomeryshire in 1267. But unfortunately was killed in action without an heir in 1282. This last time would signify the end of the male line lineal gavelkind succession of the Kingdom of Gwynedd and the House of Aberffraw when Dafydd III was committed for treason, hung drawn, and quartered in Shrewsbury on the 3rd of October 1283. 

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, attributed to Sodacan, Coat of Arms of Dafydd III, Prince of Wales.

Despite the death of the leaders of the Kingdom of Gwynedd, there was a growing sentiment about the mistreatment of the Welsh Royal figures there were two more rebellions to come. Firstly in 1294-95, a distant Aberffraw family member from a cadet branch in Meirionnydd, Madog ap Llywelyn would proclaim himself Prince of Wales, and rebel against the English crown in Gwynedd. This forced King Edward I to build Beaumaris castle on Anglesey to protect his business interests on the island. Madog was unsuccessful at the battle of Maes Moydog and was deemed a traitor and captured by a Welshman, Lord Ynyr Fychan of Nannau. Madog was then kept in captivity for the rest of his life. 

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, attributed to Il Dottore, the scene of the death of Owain Lawgoch.

There would be one final lineal successor of the Celtic Princes of Wales. He was the great-nephew of Llywelyn II, Owain Lawgoch (literally Owen with a red hand). Lawgoch was a mercenary fighting as a captain of Welshmen for the French crown against the English after his grandfather (Rhodri ap Gruffudd) officially renounced his rights as a royal member of the Aberffraw dynasty. Owain was raised in a family manor in Tatsfield, England. He was aware of his Princely heritage and was proclaimed Prince of Wales in Montgomershire in 1363. Returning to France, he plotted a coup d'etat against the English with a naval fleet unsuccessfully from La Rochelle in France in 1372. Lawgoch was assassinated near Cognac, France by A Scotsman named John Lamb who was working for him in 1378. As far as the King's family tree went, Lawgoch was the final direct male line descendant of Gruffudd ap Cynan, thus closing the gavelkind succession of the House of Aberffraw in the Kingdom of Gwynedd. But, there would be one final twist in the tale, another Owain, the name in Welsh folklore is the 'son of destiny', and they shared the same coat of arms. Owain Glyndŵr is a descendant of Wales' three Royal House's final families (Aberffraw, Dinefwr, and Mathrafal), and Llywelyn I as Prince of Wales (via female line). His rebellion between 1400-15 changed the laws in Wales and put nationalism back on the agenda and has done so ever since. To date, his proclamation day of the 16th of September from 1400 is remembered as Owain Glyndŵr Day in Wales. And his legacy has lived on in the shape of a statue, naming institutes, trains, a hotel, and pubs named in his honour, then also a rugby team in Wales, being, RGC 1404 (English: North Wales Rugby). Also, the Coat of Arms used by both Owain's in the 14th century is used as an unofficial banner at sports venues representing Wales. Glyndwr ends the official list of medieval Celtic rulers of Wales.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons, attributed to Sodacan, Coat of Arms of Owain Lawgoch & Owain Glyndwr.