Llywelyn ap Dafydd

Who was Llywelyn ap Dafydd?

Llywelyn ap Dafydd, de jure Prince of Gwynedd, was the eldest son of Dafydd ap Gruffydd the last free ruler of Gwynedd and his wife Elizabeth Ferrers. Nothing is known of his early life, though it is thought he was probably born some time around 1267. It is likely he accompanied his father during periods of exile in England in the 1270s.

Following the death of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd on 11 December 1282 the governance of Gwynedd was placed in the hands of Llywelyn's successor, his brother Dafydd ap Gruffudd. Dafydd and his son Owain were captured together at Nanhysglain near to Bera Mountain in the uplands above Abergwyngregyn on June 21 1283.

King Edward I of England then issued orders for the apprehension of the primogeniture of Dafydd ap Gruffudd. On June 29 Llywelyn ap Dafydd was arrested and taken to Rhuddlan to be imprisoned alongside his brother. A force of cavalry and infantry were deployed to escort Llywelyn and Owain out of Gwynedd via Acton Burnell in Shropshire to Bristol before the end of July 1283. After his father was executed for high treason in October 1283 he became the de jure Prince of Gwynedd.

The only senior members of the Welsh royal family who retained their liberty were Llywelyn ap Dafydd's uncle Rhodri ap Gruffudd and cousin Thomas ap Rhodri who had formally renounced their rights to the Principality.