Wales was divided into a number of 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.

• Unofficial Royalty: Prince of Wales, Earl of Chester

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

House of Aberffraw (1055 – 1283)

Family of Llywelyn ap Iowerth, Prince of Gwynedd

• Llywelyn ap Iowerth, Prince of Gwynedd – also known as also known as Llywelyn Fawr (Llywelyn the Great) (reigned 1195 – 1240)
• Tangwystl ferch Llywarch Goch, mistress of Llywelyn the Great
  • Gruffydd ap Llywelyn
  • Senana ferch Caradog, wife of Gruffydd ap Llywelyn
    • Notable Issue: Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, Prince of Gwynedd (see below)
    • Notable Issue: Dafydd ap Gruffydd, Prince of Gwynedd (see below)
• Joan, Lady of Wales, wife of Llywelyn the Great, illegitimate daughter of King John of England
  • Notable Issue: Dafydd ap Llywelyn, Prince of Gwynedd (see below)

Family of Dafydd ap Llywelyn, Prince of Gwynedd

• Dafydd ap Llywelyn, Prince of Gwynedd (reigned 1240 – 1246)
• Isabella de Braose, wife of Dafydd ap Llywelyn (no children)

Family of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, Prince of Gwynedd

• Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, Prince of Gwynedd (reigned 1246 – 1282)
• Eleanor de Montfort, wife of Llywelyn ap Gryffudd, granddaughter of King John of England
  • Notable Issue: Gwenllian ferch Llywelyn

Family of Dafydd ap Gruffydd, Prince of Gwynedd

• Dafydd ap Gruffydd, Prince of Gwynedd (reigned 1282 – 1283)
• Elizabeth Ferrers, wife of Dafydd ap Gruffydd
  • Children of Dafydd ap Gruffydd: Llywelyn ap Dafydd, Owain ap Dafydd, and Gwladys ferch Dafydd