Chapter 21
In This Chapter
● Hanging on to power in Wales
● Preparing for life as king
● Jockeying for power and influence
The title Prince of Wales was originally used to refer to native Welshmen who ruled their own country. In the Welsh language, the title was Tywysog, which literally means leader. But at the end of the 13th century, the English king, Edward I, began a campaign to conquer Wales, and by 1301, he had control of much of the country. So he gave his own son, also called Edward, the title of Prince of Wales. Ever since then, the title has been given to the eldest son of the English or British ruler.
This chapter looks at the lives of ten of the most famous Princes of Wales - three Welsh ones and seven of the 21 English princes who have had the title. The two most famous English Princes of Wales, George, who later become King George IV, and Charles, the current Prince, are covered in detail in their own chapters (Chapters 15 and 18 respectively).
Llywelyn ap lorweth
This great Welsh leader was from Gwynedd in North Wales, and by about 1195, when he was in his 20s, he was ruler of this area. He developed good relations with the English king, John, and married one of John’s illegitimate daughters, Joan. In 1208, he annexed Powys, in mid-Wales, after the ruler of this area, Gwenwynwyn, fell out with King John. Gwenwynwyn was the second most powerful man in Wales after Llywelyn, so taking over Powys in effect made Llywelyn ruler of the whole of Wales.
But Llywelyn’s good relations with his father-in-law didn’t last, because John invaded Gwynedd in 1211. Soon Llywelyn made an alliance with some other Welsh lords and fought back, throwing out the English. To get his own back, when the English barons turned on John and forced him to agree to Magna Carta, limiting his powers, Llywelyn joined them. That taught the English king not to mess with Llywelyn.
The next English king, Henry III, made a treaty with Llywelyn. Although fighting still sometimes occurred along the borders of England and Wales, the prince kept his power over Wales until he died in 1240. The Welsh respected this mighty ruler and often referred to him as Llywelyn the Great.
Llywelyn ap Gruffydd
Llywelyn came to power in Wales because he was the son of a nobleman called Gruffydd, who was an illegitimate son of Llywelyn ap Iorweth. After struggles against the English king Henry III and against other powerful lords in Wales, Llywelyn was eventually recognised by the English as ruler of Wales in the 1260s. He ruled until 1282, and so was the last undisputed prince of independent Wales before Edward I began to conquer the country - the Welsh sometimes refer to him as Llywelyn Our Last Leader.
As well as being a powerful military leader who could quell opposition in Wales, Llywelyn had to be a skilled politician to get recognition by England. The 1260s were a period when the English king, Henry III, was dealing with heavy opposition from his barons. The barons’ leader, Simon de Montfort, became so powerful that by 1264 he was virtually ruler of England. So to get recognition from England, and to ensure that the English wouldn’t attack Wales, Llywelyn first had to make a treaty with de Montfort. He managed this in 1265, but shortly afterwards, de Montfort was killed, and Llywelyn had to start all over again, reaching agreement with Henry himself in 1267.
That was the peak of Llywelyn’s power because the next English king, Edward I, was determined to conquer Wales. Llywelyn and his Welsh relatives fought valiantly, but Edward threw huge resources into his campaign. Edward even gave Llywelyn an easy way out, offering him a big estate in England in return for giving up Gwynedd to the English. But Llywelyn refused to give in. He was finally separated from his army by a trick and killed - his severed head was later displayed with gruesome glee by the English in the streets of London.
Edward
In April 1284, the English queen, Eleanor of Castile, wife of King Edward I, gave birth to a baby son. He was born in Caernarfon Castle, the greatest of King Edward’s huge fortresses in Wales, the land he’d just conquered. The king was undoubtedly pleased that his son was born in Wales - in fact, he seems to have made sure that Eleanor was in Caernarfon in time for the birth because he wanted his son to be made the first English Prince of Wales.
In 1301, it was formally announced that the young boy was Prince of Wales. There’s a story that the king held up the infant Edward and ‘offered’ him to
the Welsh as ‘your new prince’, but it’s untrue - it was made up by a 16th-century writer. But in effect, that’s what Edward was doing - giving the Welsh a new prince, not a native ruler but one who would stand for English domination of their country.
Edward didn’t know a lot about the politics of this event when he became Prince of Wales, as he was only 7 years old at the time. And he had a short reign as Prince of Wales because in 1307, his father died, and he became king of England. For more information about his reign as King Edward II, see Chapter 8.
Edward, the Black Prince
The Black Prince was the son of King Edward III and his queen, Philippa of Hainault. He was born in 1330 and became Prince of Wales in 1343. Young Edward liked fine clothes, tournaments, gambling, and big spending. He was a founding member of the knightly Order of the Garter and established himself as one of the most glamorous of all the Princes of Wales.
But Edward wasn’t all velvet cloaks and showy hats. By the time he was 16 years old, he’d won huge respect as a soldier, too. In the 14th century, Britain was deeply embroiled in the Hundred Years’ War against France (see Chapter 8). The prince played a leading role in several key battles:
● Crecy (1346), when England beat France. The 16-year-old prince commanded a division (roughly one third) of the English army and fought bravely.
● Poitiers (1356), which was another major English victory. The prince kept a reserve cavalry unit hidden in some woods; these men were able to attack the French from the rear, causing grave damage.
● Najera (1367), a battle in Spain between the English and their ally, Pedro Castille, against the French and their ally, Pedro’s brother Henry. The English and Pedro won, but Edward and Pedro fell out over money afterwards.
Edward was England’s great hope, a brilliant leader and a talented soldier who seemed likely to make the ideal medieval king. But after his military campaign in Spain, he fell ill and died in 1376 before his father.
No one is quite sure why Edward became known as the Black Prince. The nickname wasn’t used in the prince’s lifetime and seems to have begun to be used about 200 years after his death. One possible reason is that he wore distinctive black armour. Another explanation is that it was a name coined by the French, who saw him as a figure of doom because of the defeats he inflicted on them.
Owain Glyndwr
Owain Glyndwr (his name is sometimes given in the English form, Owen Glendower) was a nobleman from Powys who led a revolt against King Henry IV from 1400 to around 1412. He was briefly successful in returning Wales to Welsh rule, but had to fight almost continuously to keep his power. Owain became the last Welsh leader of Wales and has therefore become a figure with a mythology all his own. Shakespeare portrayed him as a kind of royal magician and later Welsh nationalists made him into a hero. He is remembered as one of the most remarkable guerrilla leaders Britain has known.
Owain was born in 1359, but his father died when he was still a child, and he was brought up by foster parents. Later, it’s thought that he studied law in London before returning to Wales. In the 1390s, Owain had a dispute with a Welsh neighbour, and when there was an appeal to Parliament, judgment was given against him. As a result, Owain rebelled against English rule and was proclaimed ruler of Wales in the year 1400. Henry IV turned his army on the rebel, but bad weather and Welsh guerrilla tactics defeated the English while support for Owain spread through Wales.
The Welsh and English fought for years for control of Wales. In 1405, the French, Henry’s arch-enemies, came to Wales to fight on Owain’s side. But the following year, the French pulled out, and Henry himself fought with more vigour. From then on, the Welsh lost ground, but continued to fight a desperate guerrilla war against the English. The struggle went on until Owain disappeared in 1412. No one knows what happened to Owain, but by 1421, his son had negotiated a pardon with the new English king, Henry V, and the English kings were confirmed as rulers of Wales once more.
Edward of Westminster
The only son of Henry VI and Queen Margaret of Anjou, Edward of Westminster was born in 1453 and was made Prince of Wales a year later at a ceremony in Windsor Castle. He became famous as the only holder of the title to die in battle, and his life and career were perhaps the saddest of all the Princes of Wales.
Edward had a troubled youth. His father disinherited him, and the Yorkist Edward IV seized the crown. Queen Margaret responded by getting support together for an attack on the Yorkists, to put Henry VI back on the throne with her son Edward as the rightful heir (see Chapter 9). She enlisted the powerful Earl of Warwick as her supporter, and, as part of the deal, Edward was married to Warwick’s daughter, Anne. The campaign was only intermittently successful - they got Henry back on the throne, but he was soon replaced by Edward IV again. And poor prince Edward was killed at the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471, fighting for his inheritance.
Arthur, Duke of Cornwall
Remember the story of King Arthur, the great legendary king who will return to rule England one day? Well, in the 16th century, England nearly had a King Arthur. Arthur, Duke of Cornwall, was the eldest son of King Henry VII and his queen, Elizabeth of York (see Chapter 13). He was born in 1486, was made Duke of Cornwall at birth, and became Prince of Wales in 1489. His father, who had won his crown in the Battle of Bosworth the year before Arthur was born, was keen to arrange a good marriage for the prince to secure the future of the Tudor dynasty, so Arthur was betrothed to the Spanish princess Catherine of Aragon when he was just 2 years old. They were married in 1501, when Arthur was still in his teens.
All the hopes of Henry VII rested on his young son, but tragedy struck. Soon after the wedding, Arthur caught a fever, and he died in spring 1502. His parents were distraught. But one young man did rather well out of the tragedy.
Arthur’s younger brother Henry inherited his titles - and, amazingly, his wife, Catherine. In 1509, he became one of England’s most famous rulers, Henry VIII.
Henry Frederick, Duke of Cornwall
The first son of King James VI of Scotland (who was also James I of England) and his queen, Anne of Denmark, was born in 1594 at Stirling Castle. At this time, his father was king of Scotland. When James became King of England as well, in 1603 (see Chapter 14), Henry was made Duke of Cornwall. He was invested as Prince of Wales in 1610.
Henry was one of the most remarkable Princes of Wales. He was highly intelligent and very interested in the arts, building up contacts with notable artists and writers, collecting Flemish and Italian paintings, and turning his court into one of the most cultured England has ever seen. He was also physically attractive - tall, handsome, and good at all kinds of sports, from riding to fencing. There were hopes that he would make an outstanding king, but in 1612, when he was 18, he caught a disease and died. The era’s greatest poets, including John Donne and George Herbert, wrote tributes to him. Modern historians are virtually certain from the descriptions of his illness and the post mortem examination that he died from typhoid. His titles passed to his younger brother, Charles.
James Francis Edward Stuart
In 1688, a baby was born to Mary of Modena, second wife of King James II (see Chapter 14). Both the king and his wife were Catholics, and there were widespread fears that the country would be landed with another Catholic ruler when James II died - he had two Protestant daughters by his first wife, but a male heir took precedence. The opposition to James II, his religion, and his still tiny male heir quickly gathered pace, and in a matter of months, King James fled the country.
After James’s flight, William III and his wife Mary (eldest daughter of James II) took over as joint monarchs. Technically, baby James’s time as Prince of Wales lasted only a few months. But to his Catholic supporters, it lasted years. They saw James as the rightful king once his father died in 1701, and young James spent much of the rest of his life raising support for his claim to the throne. He became known as the Old Pretender and had a substantial following in Scotland and France.
James tried to take over the throne in 1715, but his invasion plan was a failure, and soon after, his supporters turned to his son, Charles (known as Bonnie Prince Charlie) as their leader. In James’s sad life of exile, his title of Prince of Wales did him little good, and he remained yet another bearer of the title not to make it on to the throne.
Frederick, Duke of Cornwall
The son of King George II, Frederick was born in 1707, when his father was still Prince George and his mother Princess Caroline of Ansbach (see Chapter 15). As a child and young man, he lived in the family home of Hanover and so spent most of his young life away from his parents, who lived in England. When his father became king in 1727, Frederick was made Prince of Wales and was finally allowed to come to England to take up his new position. But his parents rejected him, lavishing all their affections on their younger children who had been born in England.
Cut off from family affection - and also from family power - Prince Frederick set up a rival court at his London home, Leicester House, where he lived in splendour. He ran up big debts, but settled down when he got married to Augusta of Saxe-Gotha in 1736. The pair had a large brood of children and lived, isolated from the court, mostly at their country house at Cliveden in Buckinghamshire. Frederick died in 1751 at the young age of 44, frustrated at his lack of political power but proud of his family.