Keōpūolani, Queen Consort of the Hawaiian Islands

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

The Hawaiian Islands, located in the Pacific Ocean, were originally divided into several independent chiefdoms. The Kingdom of Hawaii was formed in 1795, when the warrior chief Kamehameha the Great of the independent island of Hawaii, conquered the independent islands of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, and Lanai, and unified them under one government and ruled as Kamehameha I, King of the Hawaiian Islands. In 1810, the whole Hawaiian archipelago became unified when Kauai and Niihau voluntarily joined the Kingdom of Hawaii. Two major dynastic families ruled the kingdom: the House of Kamehameha and the House of Kalākaua.

In 1778, British explorer James Cook visited the islands. This led to increased trade and the introduction of new technologies and ideas. In the mid-19th century, American influence in Hawaii dramatically increased when American merchants, missionaries, and settlers arrived on the islands. Protestant missionaries converted most of the native people to Christianity. Merchants set up sugar plantations and the United States Navy established a base at Pearl Harbor. The newcomers brought diseases that were new to the indigenous people including influenza, measles, smallpox, syphilis, tuberculosis, and whooping cough. At the time of James Cook’s arrival in 1778, the indigenous Hawaiian population is estimated to have been between 250,000 and 800,000. By 1890, the indigenous Hawaiian population declined had to less than 40,000.

In 1893, a group of local businessmen and politicians composed of six non-native Hawaiian Kingdom subjects, five American nationals, one British national, and one German national overthrew Queen Liliʻuokalani, her cabinet, and her marshal, and took over the government of the Kingdom of Hawaii. This led to the 1898 annexation of Hawaii as a United States territory. On August 21, 1959, Hawaii became the 50th state of the United States.

In 1993, one hundred years after the Hawaiian monarchy was overthrown, the United States Congress passed and President Bill Clinton signed the Apology Resolution which “acknowledges that the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii occurred with the active participation of agents and citizens of the United States and further acknowledges that the Native Hawaiian people never directly relinquished to the United States their claims to their inherent sovereignty as a people over their national lands, either through the Kingdom of Hawaii or through a plebiscite or referendum”. As a result, the Hawaiian sovereignty movement, a grassroots political and cultural campaign to reestablish an autonomous or independent nation or kingdom in Hawaii, was established along with ongoing efforts to redress the indigenous Hawaiian population.

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An illustration of Keōpūolani and her retinue from 1855 book The Christian Queen; Credit – Wikipedia

Keōpūolani was the highest-ranking wife of Kamehameha I the Great, King of the Hawaiian Islands. She was born around 1778, in Pāpōhaku, near present-day Wailuku, on the island of Maui. Keōpūolani was the daughter of Kīwalaʻō, the aliʻi nui (supreme monarch or chief) of the island of Hawaii, and Kekuʻiapoiwa Liliha, half-sister of Kamehameha I. In July 1782, Keōpūolani’s father Kiwalao was overthrown and killed at the Battle of Mokuʻōhai. This was the first step toward Kamehameha I’s domination over all the Hawaiian Islands.

Kamehameha I the Great, King of the Hawaiian Islands, 1816; Credit – Wikipedia

Keōpūolani and Kamehameha I were married in 1795. Their marriage linked the House of Kamehameha to the ruling house of Maui and the old ruling house of Hawaii. Kamehameha I had many wives and many children. The exact number is debated because documents that recorded the names of his wives were destroyed. While he had many wives and children, only his children from his highest-ranking wife Keōpūolani succeeded him to the throne. Keōpūolani had eleven children, all but three died young. Kamehameha I was about twenty years older than Keōpūolani. Because of the large age difference, Kamehameha I called his children with Keōpūolani his grandchildren. (Note: Unofficial Royalty articles are coming for Kamehameha II and Kamehameha III.)

Kamehameha I, King of the Hawaiian Islands died on May 14, 1819. His eldest son with Keōpūolani, Liholiho, succeeded as Kamehameha II, King of the Hawaiian Islands. After the death of Kamehameha I, Keōpūolani married Hoapili, a close friend and advisor of Kamehameha I.

Keōpūolani played an important role in the ʻAi Noa, the elimination of the Hawaiian kapu system in 1819. Kapu was the ancient Hawaiian code of conduct of laws and regulations governing lifestyle, gender roles, politics, and religion. After the elimintion of the kapu system, women were allowed to eat formerly forbidden food and to eat with men, the priests no longer offered human sacrifices, and the many prohibitions surrounding the high chiefs were relaxed. In 1820, Christian missionaries came to the Hawaiian Islands and Keōpūolani and her second husband Hoapili were among the first of the Hawaiian nobles to convert to Christianity. Keōpūolani then wore Western clothing and learned to read and write. She made a public declaration that the custom of taking multiple spouses by royalty would end and the Christian practice of monogamy would be followed.

In August 1823, Keōpūolani became ill and her condition quickly worsened. Many chiefs visited her to pay their respects. When William Pitt Kalanimoku, a High Chief who functioned as the prime minister of the Hawaiian Kingdom, arrived to pay her respects, Keōpūolani told him: “Jehovah is a good God. I love him and I love Jesus Christ. I have given myself to him to be his. When I die, let none of the evil customs of this country be practiced. Let not my body be disturbed. Let it be put in a coffin. Let the teachers attend, and speak to the people at my interment. Let me be buried, and let my burial be after the manner of Christ’s people. I think very much of my grandfather, Kalaniopuʻu, and my father Kiwalaʻo, and my husband Kamehameha, and all my deceased relatives. They lived not to see these good times, and to hear of Jesus Christ. They died depending on false gods. I exceedingly mourn and lament on account of them, for they saw not these good times.”

Keōpūolani had not yet been baptized and wished to do so before she died. English missionary William Ellis, who was fluent in Hawaiian, conducted the baptism in Hawaiian so all could understand. Keōpūolani’s son Kamehameha II, King of the Hawaiian Islands and all the assembled family and nobles listened to Ellis. When they saw that she was baptized with holy water in the name of God, they said that she was no longer one of them and that they believed she was God’s and would go to dwell with him. Keōpūolani stated that she wanted her eight-year-old daughter Princess Nāhienaena to be raised as a Christian and so she was also baptized too. Keōpūolani and her daughter took their Christian name Harriet after Harriet Stewart, the wife of missionary Charles Stewart. An hour later in the early evening of September 16, 1823, 45-year-old Keōpūolani died at Hale Kamani, her home on the beach in Lahaina, on the island of Maui.

The funeral procession of Keōpūolani by missionary William Ellis who baptized Keōpūolani (1823); Credit – Wikipedia

After a large public funeral on September 18, 1823, Keōpūolani was buried at her home Hale Kamani in Lahaina, Maui. In 1837, her second son King Kamehameha III transferred her remains to the sacred island of Mokuʻula in Lahaina, Maui. Later her remains were reburied at the Christian cemetery at Waiola Church in Lahaina, Maui along with her daughter, her second husband, and other royal family members.

The royal cemetery at at Waiola Church in Lahaina, Maui; Credit – Wikipedia

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Flantzer, Susan. (2024). Kamehameha I the Great, King of the Hawaiian Islands. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/kamehameha-i-the-great-king-of-the-hawaiian-islands/
  • Kamehameha I. Royal Family Hawaii. https://www.crownofhawaii.com/kamehameha-i
  • U.S. Department of the Interior. Kamehameha the Great. National Parks Service. https://www.nps.gov/puhe/learn/historyculture/kamehameha.htm
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). Hawaiian Kingdom. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaiian_Kingdom
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). Kamehameha I. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamehameha_I
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2023c, August 16). Keōpūolani. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ke%C5%8Dp%C5%ABolani
  • Young, Peter T. (2022). Hawaiian Woods – Hawaiian Royal Residences. Images of Old Hawaiʻi. https://imagesofoldhawaii.com/hawaiian-woods-hawaiian-royal-residences/

Breaking News: King Charles III has been diagnosed with cancer

Credit – Wikipedia

Buckingham Palace has announced that King Charles III has been diagnosed with “a form of  cancer.” Check our daily (except for Saturdays) Royal News Recap for more news on this.

The statement read:

During The King’s recent hospital procedure for benign prostate enlargement, a separate issue of concern was noted. Subsequent diagnostic tests have identified a form of cancer. His Majesty has today commenced a schedule of regular treatments, during which time he has been advised by doctors to postpone public-facing duties. Throughout this period, His Majesty will continue to undertake State business and official paperwork as usual. The King is grateful to his medical team for their swift intervention, which was made possible thanks to his recent hospital procedure. He remains wholly positive about his treatment and looks forward to returning to full public duty as soon as possible.

Robert FitzRoy, 1st Earl of Gloucester, Illegitimate Son of King Henry I of England

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

1840 drawing of Robert’s effigy in St James’ Priory, Bristol; Credit – Wikipedia

Born circa the late 1080s-1095, Robert FitzRoy, 1st Earl of Gloucester was an illegitimate son of King Henry I of England. His paternal grandparents were King William I of England (the Conqueror) and Matilda of Flanders. Robert was the half-brother of Empress Matilda, Lady of the English (sometimes called Maud or Maude), King Henry I’s only legitimate surviving child, and was her chief military supporter during the long civil war (1135 – 1153) known as The Anarchy, when Matilda unsuccessfully battled with her first cousin Stephen of Blois for the throne of England.

King Henry I of England, the father of Robert FitzRoy, Earl of Gloucester; Credit – Wikipedia

Robert FitzRoy, Earl of Gloucester was probably the eldest of his father’s many illegitimate children and King Henry I recognized him as his son at birth. He was probably born in Caen, then in the Duchy of Normandy, a possession of the English crown, now in France, before his father became King of England in 1100, during the reign of either his paternal grandfather King William I (the Conqueror) or his paternal uncle King William II Rufus. The identity of Robert’s mother is uncertain. Robert’s mother may have been an unknown woman from Caen, Duchy of Normandy. Robert was educated by Robert Bloet, Bishop of Lincoln who educated many noblemen, including illegitimate children of King Henry I. Robert spoke Latin, was interested in philosophy and history, and as an adult, was an active patron of science and art in England. Contemporary chroniclers Geoffrey of Monmouth and William of Malmesbury both dedicated some of their works to Robert.

King Henry I holds the record for the British monarch with the most illegitimate children, 25 or so illegitimate children who were Robert’s half-siblings.

Robert had two royal half-siblings from her father’s marriage with Matilda of Scotland:

Robert and his wife Mabel holding churches or abbeys which they founded or were benefactors of; Credit – Wikipedia

Robert married Mabel FitzRobert (circa 1100 – 1157), the daughter of Robert FitzHamon, Lord of Gloucester and Glamorgan and Sybil de Montgomery. Mabel was the eldest of her father’s four children, all daughters, and because her three younger sisters became nuns, she was the sole heir to her father’s titles and vast estates in England, Wales, and Normandy upon his death in 1107.

Robert and Mabel had at least eight children:

During the latter part of his father’s reign, Robert was the recognized leader of the Welsh border barons and of Norman expansion in southern Wales. His Lordship of Glamorgan which came from his wife, became a model for the economic and political organization of Anglo-Norman possessions in the conquered territories. However, in 1120 an event occurred that would affect the succession to the English throne and have an impact on many people, including Robert – the sinking of the White Ship.

The Sinking of the White Ship; Credit – Wikipedia

Because the Kings of England still held the Duchy of Normandy (now in France) and were Dukes of Normandy, they were often in Normandy, and this was the case in November 1120. After the successful military campaign in which King Henry I of England had defeated King Louis VI of France at the Battle of Brémule, the English were finally preparing to return to England. King Henry I was offered the White Ship for his return to England, but he had already made other arrangements. Instead, King Henry I suggested that his only son and heir William Ætheling, Duke of Normandy sail on the White Ship along with his retinue which included William Ætheling ’s illegitimate half-brother Richard of Lincoln, William Ætheling’s illegitimate half-sister Matilda FitzRoy, Countess of Perche and many of the heirs of the great estates of England and Normandy. Unfortunately, the White Ship hit a submerged rock and capsized. William Ætheling’s bodyguard quickly got the heir to the throne into the safety of a dinghy. However, William Ætheling heard the screams of his half-sister Matilda, Countess of Perche and ordered the dinghy to turn back to rescue her. At this point, the White Ship began to sink and the many people in the water desperately sought the safety of William Ætheling ’s dinghy. The chaos and the weight were too much causing William Ætheling’s dinghy to capsize and sink without a trace. The tragedy of the White Ship resulted in King Henry I losing his only legitimate son and heir and two of his illegitimate children. All three were half-siblings of Robert FitzRoy, Earl of Gloucester. The contemporary chronicler Orderic Vitalis claimed that only two people survived the shipwreck by clinging to a rock all night.

Robert’s half sister Empress Matilda; Credit – Wikipedia

Although King Henry I had many illegitimate children, the tragedy of the White Ship left him with only one legitimate child, his daughter Matilda. King Henry I’s nephews were the closest male heirs. In 1118, King Henry I’s first wife Matilda of Scotland died, aged 38. In January 1121, King Henry I married for a second time to Adeliza of Louvain, hoping for sons, but the marriage remained childless. King Henry I’s daughter 12-year-old daughter Matilda married 23-year-old Heinrich V, Holy Roman Emperor in 1114. The couple had no children, and Heinrich died from cancer on May 23, 1125, at the age of 44, leaving Matilda as a 23-year-old childless widow with the choice of becoming a nun or remarrying. Some offers of marriage started to arrive but Matilda chose to return to her father’s court.

In 1126, King Henry I arranged for his daughter Matilda to marry Geoffrey of Anjou, eldest son of Fulk V, Count of Anjou. Matilda was quite unhappy about the marriage. She was eleven years older than Geoffrey and marriage to a future mere Count would diminish her status as the widow of an Emperor. Nevertheless, the couple was married on June 17, 1128. Matilda and Geoffrey did not get along and their marriage was stormy with frequent, long separations. Matilda insisted on retaining her title of Empress for the rest of her life. In 1129, her husband became Geoffrey V, Count of Anjou when his father left for the Holy Land where he was to become King of Jerusalem. Matilda and Geoffrey had three sons including the future King Henry II of England.

King Henry I’s choice of a successor fell to his daughter Matilda and her successors. On Christmas Day 1126, King Henry I gathered his nobles at Westminster where they swore to recognize Matilda and any future legitimate heirs she might have as his successors. Robert FitzRoy, Earl of Gloucester did homage to his half-sister Matilda, recognizing her as his father’s successor in the kingdom. However, King Henry I’s plan did not work out.

King Stephen of England; Credit – Wikipedia

On December 1, 1135, King Henry I of England died. His nephew Stephen of Blois, the son of King Henry I’s sister Adela of Normandy and Stephen II, Count of Blois, quickly crossed the English Channel, arriving in England accompanied by his military household. With the help of his brother Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester, Stephen seized power in England and was crowned King Stephen of England on December 22, 1135, at Westminster Abbey in London. Empress Matilda did not give up her claim to England and Normandy, leading to the long, brutal civil war known as The Anarchy between 1135 and 1153, known as “When Christ and His Saints Slept”.

Matilda’s husband Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou; Credit – Wikipedia

For the first few years after the death of his father King Henry I and the usurpation of the crown by his first cousin King Stephen, Robert FitzRoy, Earl of Gloucester was an inactive spectator of the struggle between his half-sister Matilda and his first cousin Stephen for the English throne. In June 1138, Matilda’s husband Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou persuaded Robert to join the faction opposing King Stephen. Robert rebelled against King Stephen, starting the beginnings of civil war in England. Meanwhile, Matilda’s husband Geoffrey took advantage of the situation by invading Normandy. Matilda’s maternal uncle King David I of Scotland invaded the north of England and announced that he was supporting the claim of Matilda to the English throne. Matilda gathered an invasion army and landed in England in September 1139 with the support of her half-brother Robert FitzRoy, Earl of Gloucester who served as her commander and several powerful barons.

In 1141, at the Battle of Lincoln where Robert commanded Matilda’s forces, King Stephen was captured, imprisoned, and deposed and Matilda ruled for a short time. Stephen’s brother Henry, Bishop of Winchester turned against his brother and a church council at Winchester declared that Stephen was deposed and declared Empress Matilda “Lady of the English.” Stephen’s wife Matilda of Boulogne rallied Stephen’s supporters and raised an army with the help of William of Ypres, Stephen’s chief lieutenant. Matilda of Boulogne recaptured London for Stephen and forced Matilda to withdraw from the Siege of Winchester, leading to Stephen’s release in 1141 in exchange for Matilda’s half-brother Robert who had also been captured.

By freeing Stephen, Matilda gave up her best chance of becoming Queen of England. The civil war continued for several more years, without much success, with alternate triumphs and defeats. However, it came to a quiet close in 1147 when Matilda’s half-brother Robert FitzRoy, Earl of Gloucester, her valiant commander, died at Bristol Castle in Bristol, England. Robert was buried at St. James’ Priory in Bristol, which he had founded in 1129. Deprived of Robert’s protection, Matilda returned to Normandy in 1147 where she focused on stabilizing the Duchy of Normandy and promoting the rights of her son Henry FitzEmpress, the future King Henry II, to the English throne.

Matilda’s son King Henry II of England; Credit – Wikipedia

Although Robert, Earl of Gloucester did not achieve his goal of seeing his half-sister become Queen of England, Matilda lived long enough to see her son Henry FitzEmpress firmly established on the English throne. In the 1154 Treaty of Winchester, King Stephen recognized Matilda’s son Henry FitzEmpress as his heir. Stephen died on October 25, 1154, and Henry ascended the throne as King Henry II, the first King of England from the House of Angevin. Matilda spent the rest of her life in Normandy, often acting as King Henry II’s representative and presiding over the government of the Duchy of Normandy. She died, aged about 65, on September 10, 1167, in Rouen, Duchy of Normandy, now in France.

Robert FitzRoy, Earl of Gloucester, Empress Matilda, King Stephen, and their families are characters in the late Sharon Kay Penman‘s excellent historical fiction novel When Christ and His Saints Slept about the civil war, The Anarchy. The years of the civil war fought by Matilda and Stephen also serve as a backdrop for Ellis Peters‘ historical detective series about Brother Cadfael, set between 1137 and 1145.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Beauclerk-Dewar, Peter, & Powell, Roger. (2006). Right Royal Bastards – The Fruits of Passion. Burke’s Peerage & Gentry LLC.
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2017). Empress Matilda, Lady of the English. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/empress-matilda-lady-of-the-english/
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2015). King Henry I of England. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/king-henry-i-of-england/
  • Robert de Caen 1st Earl of Gloucester. Genealogics. (n.d.). https://www.genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00027782&tree=LEO
  • Weir, Alison. (2008). Britain’s Royal Families – The Complete Genealogy. Vintage Books.
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert,_1st_Earl_of_Gloucester
  • Williamson, David. (1996). Brewer’s British Royalty: A Phrase and Fable Dictionary. Cassell.

Kamehameha I the Great, King of the Hawaiian Islands

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

The Hawaiian Islands, located in the Pacific Ocean, were originally divided into several independent chiefdoms. The Kingdom of Hawaii was formed in 1795, when the warrior chief Kamehameha the Great of the independent island of Hawaii, conquered the independent islands of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, and Lanai, and unified them under one government and ruled as Kamehameha I, King of the Hawaiian Islands. In 1810, the whole Hawaiian archipelago became unified when Kauai and Niihau voluntarily joined the Kingdom of Hawaii. Two major dynastic families ruled the kingdom: the House of Kamehameha and the House of Kalākaua.

In 1778, British explorer James Cook visited the islands. This led to increased trade and the introduction of new technologies and ideas. In the mid-19th century, American influence in Hawaii dramatically increased when American merchants, missionaries, and settlers arrived on the islands. Protestant missionaries converted most of the native people to Christianity. Merchants set up sugar plantations and the United States Navy established a base at Pearl Harbor. The newcomers brought diseases that were new to the indigenous people including influenza, measles, smallpox, syphilis, tuberculosis, and whooping cough. At the time of James Cook’s arrival in 1778, the indigenous Hawaiian population is estimated to have been between 250,000 and 800,000. By 1890, the indigenous Hawaiian population declined had to less than 40,000.

In 1893, a group of local businessmen and politicians composed of six non-native Hawaiian Kingdom subjects, five American nationals, one British national, and one German national overthrew Queen Liliʻuokalani, her cabinet, and her marshal, and took over the government of the Kingdom of Hawaii. This led to the 1898 annexation of Hawaii as a United States territory. On August 21, 1959, Hawaii became the 50th state of the United States.

In 1993, one hundred years after the Hawaiian monarchy was overthrown, the United States Congress passed and President Bill Clinton signed the Apology Resolution which “acknowledges that the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii occurred with the active participation of agents and citizens of the United States and further acknowledges that the Native Hawaiian people never directly relinquished to the United States their claims to their inherent sovereignty as a people over their national lands, either through the Kingdom of Hawaii or through a plebiscite or referendum”. As a result, the Hawaiian sovereignty movement, a grassroots political and cultural campaign to reestablish an autonomous or independent nation or kingdom in Hawaii, was established along with ongoing efforts to redress the indigenous Hawaiian population.

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Kamehameha I the Great, King of the Hawaiian Islands, 1816; Credit – Wikipedia

Kamehameha I the Great, reigned as King of the Hawaiian Islands from 1795 – 1819. He was born Kalani Paiʻea Wohi o Kaleikini Kealiʻikui Kamehameha o ʻIolani i Kaiwikapu kauʻi Ka Liholiho Kūnuiākea and known as Paiʻea. His father was Keōua Kalanikupuapaʻīkalaninui Ahilapalapa, from an old Hawaiian noble family, and his mother was Kekuʻiapoiwa II, a Hawaiian chiefess. Kamehameha was probably born in November 1758.  At the time of his birth, a comet was visible. Since Halley’s Comet was visible from Hawaii in 1758, it is believed that Kamehameha was probably born in 1758. His birth ceremony was held at the Moʻokini Heiau, an ancient temple that is preserved at the Kohala Historical Sites State Monument.

The Hawaiian Islands, located in the Pacific Ocean, were originally divided into several independent chiefdoms. Kamehameha I grew up at the court of his uncle Kalaniʻopuʻu, the aliʻi nui (supreme monarch or chief) of the island of Hawaii. During Kalaniʻopuʻu’s reign, British explorer Captain James Cook visited the island of Hawaii three times and had two cordial visits with Kalaniʻopuʻu. However, in 1779, during Cook’s third exploratory voyage in the Pacific, tensions escalated between his men and the people of the island of Hawaii. The theft of a longboat and an attempt by Cook to kidnap Kalaniʻōpuʻu led to the death of Cook’s death.

After Kalaniʻopuʻu’ died in April 1782, his son Kiwalao became the aliʻi nui (supreme monarch or chief) of the island of Hawaii. In July 1782, Kiwalao was overthrown and killed at the Battle of Mokuʻōhai. This was the first step toward Kamehameha I’s domination over all the Hawaiian Islands. The island of Hawaiʻi was divided into three parts: Kamehameha I ruled Kona, Kohala, and Hāmākua, Kiwalao’s half-brother Keawemaʻuhili controlled Hilo and Kiwalao’s son Keōua Kūʻahuʻula controlled Kaʻū.

Kamehameha and his council of chiefs planned to unite the rest of the Hawaiian Islands. British and American traders sold guns and ammunition to Kamehameha. Captain William Brown of the Butterworth Squadron, a British commercial group of three vessels, gave Kamehameha the formula for gunpowder: sulfur, saltpeter, and charcoal, all of which are abundant in the islands. Welshman Isaac Davis and the British John Young who both lived on the island of Hawaii and had married native Hawaiian women, became valued advisors to Kamehameha. By 1795, Kamehameha had conquered the independent islands of Oahu, Maui, Molokai, and Lānaʻi and unified them under one government, the Kingdom of Hawaii. In 1810, the whole Hawaiian archipelago became unified when the islands of Kauaʻi and Niʻihau joined the Kingdom of Hawaii voluntarily.

Keōpūolani, Kamehameha’s highest ranking wife and her retinue; Credit – Wikipedia

Kamehameha had many wives and many children. The exact number is debated because documents that recorded the names of his wives were destroyed. While he had many wives and children, only his children from his highest-ranking wife Keōpūolani succeeded him to the throne. Keōpūolani had eleven children, all but three died young.

The ʻAhuʻena Heiau, the personal shrine of Kamehameha at Kamakahonu  in 1816; Credit – Wikipedia

Kamehameha I spent the last years of his life at Kamakahonu, the compound he built in Kailua-Kona on the island of Hawaii. It was at Kamakahonu that Kamehameha I, King of the Hawaiian Islands died on May 14, 1819. After his death, Kamehameha I’s body was hidden by his trusted friends Hoapili and Hoʻolulu in the ancient custom called hūnākele (to hide in secret). The mana, or power of a person, was considered to be sacred and his body was buried in a hidden location because of his mana. His final resting place remains unknown. King Kamehameha III asked Hoapili to show him where his father was buried, but on the way there Hoapili knew that they were being followed, so he turned around.

Statue of King Kamehameha I in Honolulu, Hawaii; Credit – Wikipedia

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Kamehameha I. Royal Family Hawaii. https://www.crownofhawaii.com/kamehameha-i
  • U.S. Department of the Interior. Kamehameha the Great. National Parks Service. https://www.nps.gov/puhe/learn/historyculture/kamehameha.htm
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). Hawaiian Kingdom. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaiian_Kingdom
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). Kamehameha I. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamehameha_I

Matilda FitzRoy, Countess of Perche, Illegitimate Daughter of King Henry I of England

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

An 1866 watercolor by Queen Victoria’s daughter Princess Louise showing a scene from the sinking of the Blanche Nef or White Ship. A male figure, probably William Ætheling, is shown in a lifeboat to the lower left. He is shown full-length, standing with his hands clasped together and looking up towards his half-sister Matilda, Countess of Perche who is still on board the ship. Drowning men are shown trying to climb into the small boat which is soon to capsize; Credit – Royal Collection Trust / © His Majesty King Charles III 2023

Matilda FitzRoy, Countess of Perche, who lost her life in the sinking of the White Ship, was the illegitimate daughter of King Henry I of England and a mistress identified only as Edith. Matilda’s birth date is unknown. King Henry I recognized at least twenty of his illegitimate children, including Matilda. Her surname FitzRoy comes from the Anglo-Norman Fitz, meaning “son of” and Roy, meaning “king”, implying the original bearer of the surname was a child of a king. Her paternal grandparents were King William I of England (the Conqueror) and Matilda of Flanders.

King Henry I holds the record for the British monarch with the most illegitimate children, 25 or so illegitimate children who were Matilda’s half-siblings.

Matilda’s royal half-siblings, the children of her father King Henry I and his first wife Matilda of Scotland were:

Matilda’s husband Rotrou III, Count of Perche; Credit – Wikipedia

Matilda married Rotrou III, Count of Perche (circa 1077 – 1144) in 1103, becoming his second wife. The County of Perche was a medieval county between Normandy and Maine, in present-day France. Matilda’s husband took part in the First Crusade (1096 – 1099) and in the Reconquista in eastern Spain, a series of military campaigns that Christian kingdoms waged against the Muslim kingdoms.

As a dowry, Matilda brought lands in Wiltshire, England to the marriage. During their marriage, the couple received possession of the Bellême estate in Normandy, which had been confiscated from Robert of Bellême, 3rd Earl of Shrewsbury in 1102.

Matilda and Rotrou had two daughters:

Because the Kings of England still held Normandy (in France) and were Dukes of Normandy, they were often in Normandy, and this was the case in November of 1120. After the successful military campaign in which King Henry I of England had defeated King Louis VI of France at the Battle of Brémule, the English were finally preparing to return to England. King Henry I was offered the White Ship for his return to England, but he had already made other arrangements. Instead, Henry suggested that his only son and heir William Ætheling, Duke of Normandy sail on the White Ship along with his retinue which included William’s illegitimate half-brother Richard of Lincoln, William’s illegitimate half-sister Matilda, Countess of Perch, Richard d’Avranches, 2nd Earl of Chester and many of the heirs of the great estates of England and Normandy.

The sinking of the White Ship; Credit – Wikipedia

On November 25, 1120, William Ætheling and his retinue boarded the ship in a festive mood and barrels of wine were brought on board to celebrate the return to England. Soon both passengers and crew were inebriated. By the time the ship was ready to set sail, there were about 300 people on board, including many high-ranking people of Norman England. William and his retinue ordered the captain of the White Ship to overtake the ship of King Henry I so that the White Ship would be the first ship to return to England. Unfortunately, the White Ship hit a submerged rock and capsized. William’s bodyguard quickly got the heir to the throne into the safety of a dinghy. However, William Ætheling heard the screams of his half-sister Matilda, Countess of Perche, and ordered the dinghy to turn back to rescue her. At this point, the White Ship began to sink and the many people in the water desperately sought the safety of William’s dinghy. The chaos and the weight were too much causing William Ætheling’s dinghy to capsize and sink without a trace. The contemporary chronicler Orderic Vitalis claimed that only two people survived the shipwreck by clinging to a rock all night.

King Henry I mourning the loss of three children in the sinking of the White Ship; Credit – Wikipedia

The sinking of the White Ship caused King Henry I to lose two illegitimate children, Matilda FitzRoy, Countess of Perche and Richard of Lincoln, and most importantly, King Henry I’s only son William Ætheling. King Henry I holds the record for the British monarch with the most illegitimate children, 25 or so illegitimate children, but the tragedy of the White Ship left him with only one legitimate child, his daughter Matilda. Henry I’s nephews were the closest male heirs. In January 1121, Henry married a second time to Adeliza of Louvain, hoping for sons, but the marriage remained childless. On Christmas Day in 1226, King Henry I of England gathered his nobles at Westminster where they swore to recognize his daughter Matilda and any future legitimate heir she might have as his successors. That plan did not work out. Upon hearing of Henry I’s death on December 1, 1135, Stephen of Blois, one of Henry I’s nephews, quickly crossed the English Channel from France, seized power, and was crowned King of England on December 22, 1135. This started the terrible civil war between first cousins Stephen and Matilda known as The Anarchy. England did not see peace for more than 18 years until Matilda’s son acceded to the throne as King Henry II of England in 1154.

La Trappe Abbey today; Credit – Von PY. Stucki, CC BY-SA 2.0 fr, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11471582

After her tragic death, Matilda’s husband Rotrou III, Count of Perche built a small chapel to the Virgin Mary, in Soligny-la-Trappe, then in the Duchy of Normandy, now in France, as a memorial to his wife. A few years later Rotrou built an adjoining monastery, the La Trappe Abbey, known for being the house of origin of the Trappists (also known as the Cistercians), to whom it gave its name.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Beauclerk-Dewar, Peter, & Powell, Roger. (2006). Right Royal Bastards – The Fruits of Passion. Burke’s Peerage & Gentry LLC.
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2015). The Sinking of the White Ship and How It Affected the English Succession. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/november-25-1120-the-sinking-of-the-white-ship-and-how-it-affected-the-english-succession/
  • Spencer, Charles. (2022). The White Ship: Conquest, Anarchy and the Wrecking of Henry I’s Dream. William Collins.
  • Weir, Alison. (2008). Britain’s Royal Families – The Complete Genealogy. Vintage Books.
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). Matilda Fitzroy, Countess of Perche. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matilda_FitzRoy,_Countess_of_Perche
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). Rotrou III, Count of Perche. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotrou_III,_Count_of_Perche

Lady Elizabeth Ferrers, Princess of Wales

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Wales was divided into several separate kingdoms. The largest of these was Gwynedd in northwest Wales and Powys in east Wales. Gwynedd was the most powerful of the Welsh kingdoms. For one man to rule all of Wales during this period was rare. This was because of the inheritance system practiced in Wales. All sons received an equal share of their father’s property, including illegitimate sons, resulting in the division of territories.

The Principality of Wales was created in 1216 at the Council of Aberdyfi when it was agreed by Llywelyn the Great and the other Welsh princes that he was the paramount Welsh ruler and the other Welsh princes would pay homage to him. Although he never used the title, Llywelyn was the de facto Prince of Wales. Llywelyn dominated Wales for 45 years and was one of only two Welsh rulers to be called “the Great”, the other being his ancestor Rhodri the Great. Llywelyn was succeeded by his son Dafydd ap Llywelyn and then by his two grandsons who were the sons of his illegitimate son Gruffydd ap Llywelyn.

The campaign of King Edward I of England in Wales (1276 – 1284) resulted in Wales being completely taken over by England. It ended with the deaths of the last two native Princes of Wales: Llywelyn ap Gruffudd who was ambushed and killed in 1282 and his brother Dafydd ap Gruffydd, who was the first prominent person in recorded history to have been hanged, drawn, and quartered, in 1283. To ensure there would be no further members of the House of Aberffraw, the English imprisoned Dafydd ap Gruffydd’s two young sons for the rest of their lives at Bristol Castle and sent his daughter and the daughter of his brother Llywelyn ap Gruffydd to convents. To further humiliate the Welsh, King Edward I invested his son and heir, the future King Edward II, with the title Prince of Wales. Since then, the title has been granted (with a few exceptions) to the heir apparent of the English or British monarch.

Note: In Welsh, “ap” means “son of” and “ferch” means “daughter of”.

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Coat of Arms of Elizabeth Ferrers’ husband, Dafydd ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales; Credit – By Sodacan Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12219418

Born circa 1240, in Derby, Derbyshire, England, Lady Elizabeth Ferrers, from an English noble family, was the wife of Dafydd ap Gruffydd, the last native and independent Prince of Wales. She was the youngest of the five children and the youngest of the three daughters of William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby and his second wife Margaret de Quincy. Elizabeth’s paternal grandparents were William de Ferrers, 4th Earl of Derby and Agnes de Kevelioc. Her maternal grandparents were Roger de Quincy, 2nd Earl of Winchester, and Helen of Galloway.

Elizabeth had four elder siblings:

Elizabeth had seven half-sisters from her father’s first marriage to Sybil Marshal:

  • Agnes de Ferrers (circa 1222 – 1290), married William de Vesci, had five children
  • Isabel de Ferrers (1226 – circa 1260), married (1) Gilbert Basset of Wycombe, no children (2) Reginald II de Mohun, had three children
  • Maud de Ferrers (circa 1228- 1298), married (1) Simon de Kyme, no children (2) William de Vivonne, had four daughters (3) Amaury IX, Viscount of Rochechouart, had one daughter
  • Sibyl de Ferrers (1230 – 1273), married (1) Frank de Bohun of Midhurst, had three children
  • Joan de Ferrers (circa 1233 – 1267), married (1) Sir John de Mohun, Master of Dunster, had one son (2)Sir Robert II Aguillon of Addington, had one daughter
  • Agatha de Ferrers (? – 1306), married Hugh Mortimer, had three children
  • Eleanor de Ferrers (circa 1236 – 1274) married (1) William de Vaux, no children (2) Roger de Quincy, 2nd Earl of Winchester, no children(3) Roger de Leybourne, had two children

Elizabeth’s father William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby had been in poor health for many years and died when Elizabeth was about fourteen years old. About 1256, Elizabeth was married to Sir William Marshal, 2nd Baron Marshal in Hingham, Norfolk, England. He was about twenty-five years older than Elizabeth and she was his second wife. The couple had no children. Willam died on August 4, 1265, at the Battle of Evesham. Soon after her first husband’s death, Elizabeth married Welsh Prince, Dafydd ap Gruffydd. He was the youngest of the four sons of Prince Gruffydd ap Llywelyn and Senana ferch Caradog. Dafydd’s paternal grandfather was the powerful Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, Prince of Gwynedd, also known as Llywelyn Fawr (Llywelyn the Great). At the time of their marriage, Dafydd ap Gruffydd’s elder brother Llywelyn ap Gruffydd was the Prince of an independent Wales.

Dafydd and Elizabeth had two sons and one daughter, and all were ill-fated:

From 1277 – 1283, King Edward I of England had many military campaigns that ultimately resulted in the conquest of Wales. On December 11, 1282, Dafydd’s brother Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales, was one of 3,000 Welshmen killed by the English army under King Edward I at the Battle of Orewin Bridge near Builth Wells, Wales. As Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales only had an infant daughter, Dafydd ap Gruffydd took over as his brother’s legitimate successor and became Prince of Wales and leader of the resistance against King Edward I of England.

King Edward I’s massive army surrounded the Snowdonia base of Dafydd ap Gruffudd, Prince of Wales, who had limited manpower and equipment. Dafydd kept moving and finally, in May 1283, he was forced to move to the mountains above the Welsh royal home in Abergwyngregyn. On June 22, 1283, Dafydd and his younger son Owain ap Dafydd were captured and brought to King Edward I’s camp in Rhuddlan, Wales that same day. Dafydd was taken to Shrewsbury, England. Dafydd’s wife Elizabeth, their daughter Gwladys, their infant niece Gwenllian ferch Llywelyn were also captured. Elizabeth and Dafydd’s elder son Llywelyn ap Dafydd was captured on June 28, 1283. On that same day, King Edward I issued writs to summon a parliament to meet at Shrewsbury, to discuss Dafydd’s fate.

On September 30, 1283, Dafydd ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales, was condemned to death, the first person known to have been tried and executed for high treason against an English king. King Edward I’s sense of outrage was so extreme that he designed a punishment for Dafydd harsher than any previous form of capital punishment. Dafydd ap Gruffydd was the first person in recorded history to have been hanged, drawn, and quartered. On October 3, 1283, Dafydd ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales was dragged through the streets of Shrewsbury, England attached to a horse’s tail, then hanged alive, revived, then disemboweled and his entrails burned before him. He was then beheaded and his body was cut into four quarters. Dafydd’s four quarters were sent to different parts of England: the right arm to York, the left arm to Bristol, the right leg to Northampton, and the left leg to Hereford. His head was placed on a pole in the Tower of London near the head of his brother Llywelyn. The days of an independent Wales were over.

King Edward I of England wanted to make sure that there were no more claimants to the Welsh throne. Elizabeth and Dafydd ap Gruffydd’s young daughter Gwladys ferch Dafydd was sent to the Sixhills Convent in Sixhills, Lincolnshire, England, where she spent the rest of her life, dying circa 1336. King Edward I ordered an annual payment of 20 pounds for Gwladys’s upkeep.

Elizabeth and Dafydd ap Gruffydd’s two sons 15-year-old Llywelyn ap Dafydd and 7-year-old Owain ap Dafydd were imprisoned for the rest of their lives at Bristol Castle in England. Much of the time they were kept in cages. Llywelyn died in 1287, under mysterious circumstances, when he was about twenty years old. Owain was last reported to be alive in 1325 when he would have been in his fifties.

Gwenllian ferch Llywelyn, the 18-month-old daughter and only child of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, Dafydd’s brother, was confined at Sempringham Priory in Sempringham, Lincolnshire, England where she lived until her death on June 7, 1337, a few days before her 55th birthday. An annual payment of 20 pounds was also arranged for Gwenllian’s upkeep.

St. Michael’s Church in Caerwys, Flintshire, Wales where Elizabeth may be buried; Credit – By Llywelyn2000 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62808423

As for Elizabeth Ferrers, Princess of Wales, her fate is uncertain. She lost everything and would never see her children again. Some historians think she returned to England and died circa 1297. It is possible that she was buried at St. Michael’s Church in Caerwys, Flintshire, Wales where there is a stone effigy reputed to be that of Elizabeth Ferrers.

Effigy reputed to be that of Elizabeth Ferrers; Credit – Wikipedia

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Belfrage, Anna Belfrage. (2018). Elizabeth who? A reflection on the life of a medieval woman. https://www.annabelfrage.com/2018/05/27/elizabeth-who/
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2024). Dafydd ap Gruffydd, Prince of Gwynedd. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/dafydd-ap-gruffydd-prince-of-wales/
  • Sir William Marshall. geni_family_tree. (2023). https://www.geni.com/people/Sir-William-Marshall/6000000003828319213
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). Elizabeth Ferrers. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Ferrers
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2021). Elizabeth Ferrers. Wikipedia (Welsh). https://cy.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Ferrers
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2022). William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_de_Ferrers,_5th_Earl_of_Derby
  • William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby. geni_family_tree. (2023). https://www.geni.com/people/William-de-Ferrers-5th-Earl-of-Derby/6000000002092684088
  • Williamson, David. (1996). Brewer’s British Royalty: A Phrase and Fable Dictionary. Cassell.

Breaking News: Sarah Ferguson: Duchess of York Diagnosed With Skin Cancer

The Telegraph

From BBC News:

The Duchess of York has been diagnosed with malignant melanoma following the removal of a cancerous mole during treatment for breast cancer.

Sarah Ferguson had several moles removed and analysed while having reconstructive surgery following a mastectomy, her spokesman said.
The duchess “remains in good spirits”, despite it being “distressing” to have another cancer diagnosis.
She is the third royal to announce a medical procedure this week.

BBC: Sarah Ferguson: Duchess of York diagnosed with skin cancer

Dafydd ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales

by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2024

Wales was divided into several separate kingdoms. The largest of these was Gwynedd in northwest Wales and Powys in east Wales. Gwynedd was the most powerful of the Welsh kingdoms. For one man to rule all of Wales during this period was rare. This was because of the inheritance system practiced in Wales. All sons received an equal share of their father’s property, including illegitimate sons, resulting in the division of territories.

The Principality of Wales was created in 1216 at the Council of Aberdyfi when it was agreed by Llywelyn the Great and the other Welsh princes that he was the paramount Welsh ruler and the other Welsh princes would pay homage to him. Although he never used the title, Llywelyn was the de facto Prince of Wales. Llywelyn dominated Wales for 45 years and was one of only two Welsh rulers to be called “the Great”, the other being his ancestor Rhodri the Great. Llywelyn was succeeded by his son Dafydd ap Llywelyn and then by his two grandsons who were the sons of his illegitimate son Gruffydd ap Llywelyn.

The campaign of King Edward I of England in Wales (1276 – 1284) resulted in Wales being completely taken over by England. It ended with the deaths of the last two native Princes of Wales: Llywelyn ap Gruffudd who was ambushed and killed in 1282 and his brother Dafydd ap Gruffydd, who was the first prominent person in recorded history to have been hanged, drawn, and quartered, in 1283. To ensure there would be no further members of the House of Aberffraw, the English imprisoned Dafydd ap Gruffydd’s two young sons for the rest of their lives at Bristol Castle and sent his daughter and the daughter of his brother Llywelyn ap Gruffydd to convents. To further humiliate the Welsh, King Edward I invested his son and heir, the future King Edward II, with the title Prince of Wales. Since then, the title has been granted (with a few exceptions) to the heir apparent of the English or British monarch.

Note: In Welsh, “ap” means “son of” and “ferch” means “daughter of”.

*********************

Coat of Arms of Dafydd ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales; Credit – By Sodacan  Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=12219418

Dafydd ap Gruffydd was the last native and independent Prince of Wales from December 11, 1282, until his execution on October 3, 1283, on the orders of King Edward I of England. Born on July 11, 1238, in Gwynedd, Wales, he was the youngest of the four sons of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn and Senana ferch Caradog. Dafydd’s paternal grandparents were Llywelyn ap Iorwerth, Prince of Gwynedd, also known as Llywelyn Fawr (Llywelyn the Great), and his mistress Tangwystl ferch Llywarch Goch. His maternal grandparents were Caradog ap Membyr Ddu and Eva ferch Gwyn.

Dafydd had three brothers and three sisters. Information on his siblings is sketchy, including birth and death dates and marriage information.

  • Margred ferch Gruffydd (1221 – 1261), married Madog II ap Gruffydd, Lord of Dinas Branof Powys Fadog, had two sons
  • Owain Goch ap Gruffydd (circa 1225 – circa 1282)
  • Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales (circa 1228 – 1282), married Eleanor de Monfort, had one daughter
  • Rhodri ap Gruffydd (circa 1230 – 1235 to circa 1315), married (1) Beatrice, daughter of David of Malpas (2) Unknown, had one son
  • Gwladys ferch Gruffydd (circa 1225 – 1261), half-sister, married Rhys Fychan
  • Catrin ferch Gruffydd (circa 1234 – ?), a half-sister, married Iorwerth Fychan ab Iorwerth Hen, had two children

Dafydd ap Gruffydd’s father Gruffydd ap Llywelyn was the eldest son of Llywelyn the Great. Even though Gruffydd ap Llywelyn was illegitimate, according to Welsh law, all sons received an equal share of their father’s property, including illegitimate sons, resulting in the division of assets. However, Llywelyn the Great wanted his legitimate son Dafydd ap Llywelyn, the son of Llywelyn the Great’s wife Joan, Lady of Wales, an illegitimate daughter of King John of England, to be his sole heir. In 1220, Llywelyn the Great managed to convince Dafydd ap Llywelyn’s maternal uncle King Henry III of England to recognize Dafydd ap Llywelyn as his sole heir, and in 1226, Pope Honorius III officially declared Llywelyn the Great’s wife Joan to be the legitimate daughter of King John of England, strengthening Dafydd ap Llywelyn’s position. In 1238, at a council at Ystrad Fflur Abbey, the other Welsh princes recognized Dafydd ap Llywelyn as Llywelyn’s sole legitimate heir.

Llywelyn the Great on his deathbed with his sons Gruffydd ap Llywelyn and Dafydd ap Llywelyn; Credit – Wikipedia

On April 11, 1240, Llywelyn the Great died and his son Dafydd ap Llywelyn succeeded him as Prince of Gwynedd. In August 1241, King Henry III of England invaded Gwynedd, and after a short war, under the Treaty of Gwerneigron, Dafydd ap Llywelyn was forced to give up all his lands outside Gwynedd and hand over his imprisoned half-brother Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, Llywelyn ap Gruffydd’s father, to King Henry III who imprisoned him in the Tower of London. Since Gruffydd ap Llywelyn was a rival claimant to the Principality of Gwynedd, King Henry III put limits on Dafydd ap Llywelyn by threatening to set up Gruffydd as a rival in Gwynedd. However, on March 1, 1244, Dafydd ap Gruffydd’s father Gruffydd ap Llywelyn fell to his death while trying to escape from the Tower of London by climbing down a knotted bedsheet.

Gruffydd ap Llywelyn falling from the Tower of London; Credit – Wikipedia

Dafydd ap Llywelyn, Prince of Gwynedd and his wife Isabella de Braose had no children. Dafydd ap Gruffydd’s elder brother Llywelyn ap Gruffydd was in the entourage of their uncle Dafydd ap Llywelyn and appeared to be his designated heir. However, shortly after Dafydd ap Llywelyn died in 1246, the 1247 Treaty of Woodstock divided Gwynedd between Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, his elder brother Owain ap Gruffydd, and his younger brothers Rhodri ap Gruffydd and Dafydd ap Gruffydd.

In 1255, Llywelyn ap Gruffydd defeated his brothers at the Battle of Bryn Derwin and established himself as the sole ruler of Gwynedd. He received the homage of the Welsh princes and assumed the title Prince of Wales. Llywelyn imprisoned his brother Dafydd but released him the following year and restored him to his court. In 1263, Dafydd joined King Henry III of England in a campaign against Llywelyn. After Llywelyn was recognized by King Henry III as Prince of Wales via the 1267 Treaty of Montgomery, Dafydd was once again restored to Llywelyn’s favor.

Dafydd ap Gruffydd married Lady Elizabeth de Ferrers, daughter of William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby and his second wife Margaret de Quincy. Dafydd and Elizabeth had two sons and one daughter, and all were ill-fated:

In March 1282, Dafydd ap Gruffudd attacked and captured Hawarden Castle, near Hawarden, Flintshire, Wales, starting the final conflict with King Edward I of England that would lead to the end of an independent Wales. On December 11, 1282, Dafydd’s brother Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales, was one of 3,000 Welshmen killed by the English army under King Edward I at the Battle of Orewin Bridge near Builth Wells, Wales. Llywelyn ap Gruffydd was ambushed, horribly murdered, and beheaded. His head was sent to London for public display, and it is thought that the rest of his body was interred at Cwmhir Abbey in Abbeycwmhir, Wales. As Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales only had an infant daughter, Dafydd ap Gruffydd took over as his brother’s legitimate successor and leader of the resistance against King Edward I of England.

King Edward I’s massive army surrounded the Snowdonia base of Dafydd ap Gruffudd, Prince of Wales, who had limited manpower and equipment. Dafydd kept moving and finally, in May 1283, he was forced to move to the mountains above the Welsh royal home in Abergwyngregyn. On June 22, 1283, Dafydd and his younger son Owain ap Dafydd were captured and brought to King Edward I’s camp in Rhuddlan, Wales that same day. Dafydd was taken from Rhuddlan to Chester, England, and then to Shrewsbury, England. Dafydd’s wife Elizabeth de Ferrers, his daughter Gwladys, and his infant niece Gwenllian ferch Llywelyn were also captured. Dafydd’s elder son Llywelyn ap Dafydd was captured on June 28, 1283. On that same day, King Edward I issued writs to summon a parliament to meet at Shrewsbury, to discuss Dafydd’s fate.

On September 30, 1283, Dafydd ap Gruffudd, Prince of Wales, was condemned to death, the first person known to have been tried and executed for high treason against the King. King Edward I’s sense of outrage was so extreme that he designed a punishment for Dafydd harsher than any previous form of capital punishment. Dafydd ap Gruffydd was the first person in recorded history to have been hanged, drawn, and quartered. On October 3, 1283, Dafydd ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales was dragged through the streets of Shrewsbury, England attached to a horse, then hanged alive, revived, then disemboweled and his entrails burned before him. He was then beheaded and his body was cut into four quarters. Dafydd’s four quarters were sent to different parts of England: the right arm to York, the left arm to Bristol, the right leg to Northampton, and the left leg to Hereford. His head was placed on a pole in the Tower of London near the head of his brother Llywelyn.

The days of an independent Wales were over. King Edward I of England had completed a conquest of Wales that resulted in his annexation of the Principality of Wales. After the brutal conquest of Wales and the destruction of the ruling family, Wales was stripped of all royal insignia, relics, and regalia. King Edward I took particular delight in appropriating Aber Garth Celyn, the royal home of the defeated dynasty. He then took their title, Prince of Wales, and bestowed it upon his heir.

King Edward I of England wanted to make sure that there were no more claimants to the Welsh throne. Dafydd ap Gruffydd’s young daughter Gwladys ferch Dafydd was sent to the Sixhills Convent in Sixhills, Lincolnshire, England, where she spent the rest of her life, dying circa 1336. King Edward I ordered an annual payment of 20 pounds for Gwladys’s upkeep.

Dafydd ap Gruffydd’s two sons 15-year-old Llywelyn ap Dafydd and 7-year-old Owain ap Dafydd were imprisoned for the rest of their lives at Bristol Castle in England. Much of the time they were kept in cages. Llywelyn died in 1287 under mysterious circumstances when he was about twenty years old. Owain was last reported to be alive in 1325 when he would have been in his fifties.

Gwenllian ferch Llywelyn, the 18-month-old daughter and only child of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, Dafydd’s brother, was confined at Sempringham Priory in Sempringham, Lincolnshire, England where she lived until her death on June 7, 1337, a few days before her 55th birthday. An annual payment of 20 pounds was also arranged for Gwenllian’s upkeep.

This article is the intellectual property of Unofficial Royalty and is NOT TO BE COPIED, EDITED, OR POSTED IN ANY FORM ON ANOTHER WEBSITE under any circumstances. It is permissible to use a link that directs to Unofficial Royalty.

Works Cited

  • Flantzer, Susan. (2024). Dafydd ap Llywelyn, Prince of Gwynedd. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/dafydd-ap-llywelyn-prince-of-gwynedd/
  • Flantzer, Susan. (2024). Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, Prince of Wales. Unofficial Royalty. https://www.unofficialroyalty.com/llywelyn-ap-gruffydd-prince-of-wales/
  • Gruffydd ap Llywelyn Fawr. geni_family_tree. (2022). https://www.geni.com/people/Gruffydd-ap-Llywelyn-Fawr/6000000006727931003
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). Dafydd ap Gruffydd. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dafydd_ap_Gruffydd
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2022). Dafydd ap Gruffudd. Wikipedia (Welsh). https://cy.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dafydd_ap_Gruffudd
  • Wikimedia Foundation. (2023). Gruffudd ap Llywelyn ap Iorwerth. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gruffudd_ap_Llywelyn_ap_Iorwerth
  • Williamson, David. (1996). Brewer’s British Royalty: A Phrase and Fable Dictionary. Cassell.

Breaking News: King Charles III to undergo treatment for prostate condition

Just hours after it was announced that The Princess of Wales had undergone successful abdominal surgery, Buckingham Palace announced that King Charles III will be treated for a benign prostate condition next week. The statement stresses that it is a benign condition, but the King will undergo a “corrective procedure”. The King’s engagements will be postponed for a brief period of time.

BBC: King Charles to be treated for benign prostate condition

Breaking News: Princess of Wales in hospital following planned surgery

photo: By Ian Jones – Buckingham Palace reception, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=131607684

The Princess of Wales has undergone planned abdominal surgery at The London Clinic, a private hospital in central London.  A statement from Kensington Palace states that she was admitted yesterday, and that “the surgery was successful and it is expected that she will remain in hospital for ten to fourteen days, before returning home to continue her recovery.”  No further details were given about the Princess’s condition, but stressed that her condition did not involve cancer.

The Princess apologized for having to postpone her scheduled engagements, and the Prince will also be postponing some of his engagements while the Princess is in hospital. The Palace stated they will provide updates only if there is significant information to share.

Watch for more information posted in our Daily News Recap later this evening.

British Monarchy: A statement from Kensington Palace
BBC: Catherine, Princess of Wales, has planned abdominal surgery