Llywelyn ap Gruffudd | |||||
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Prince of Wales Prince of Aberffraw and Lord of Snowdon |
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Llywelyn ap Gruffudd at Cardiff City Hall.
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Prince of Wales | |||||
Reign | 1246–1282 | ||||
Predecessor | Dafydd ap Llywelyn | ||||
Successor | Dafydd ap Gruffudd | ||||
Born | c. 1223 | ||||
Died | 11 December 1282 Aberedw, Powys |
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Consort | Eleanor de Montfort | ||||
Issue | Gwenllian of Wales | ||||
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Royal house | Aberffraw | ||||
Father | Gruffudd ap Llywelyn Fawr | ||||
Mother | Senana ferch Caradog |
Full name | |
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Llywelyn ap Gruffudd or Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf |
Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (c. 1223 – 11 December 1282), sometimes written as Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, also known as Llywelyn the Last, or, in Welsh, Llywelyn Ein Llyw Olaf ("Llywelyn, Our Last Leader"), was Prince of Wales (Latin; Princeps Wallie, Welsh; Tywysog Cymru) from 1258 until his death at Cilmeri in 1282. The son of Gruffudd ap Llywelyn Fawr and grandson of Llywelyn the Great, he was the last sovereign prince of Wales before its conquest by Edward I of England.
Llywelyn was the second of the four sons of Gruffudd, the eldest son of Llywelyn the Great, and Senana ferch Caradog, the daughter of Caradoc ap Thomas ap Rhodri, Lord of Anglesey. The eldest was Owain Goch ap Gruffudd and Llywelyn had two younger brothers, Dafydd ap Gruffudd and Rhodri ap Gruffudd. Llywelyn is thought to have been born around 1222 or 1223. He is first heard of holding lands in the Vale of Clwyd around 1244.
Following his grandfather's death in 1240, Llywelyn's uncle, Dafydd ap Llywelyn (who was Llywelyn the Great's eldest legitimate son), succeeded him as ruler of Gwynedd. Llywelyn's father, Gruffudd (who was Llywelyn's eldest son but illegitimate), and his brother, Owain, were initially kept prisoner by Dafydd, then transferred into the custody of King Henry III of England. Gruffudd died in 1244, from a fall while trying to escape from his cell at the top of the Tower of London. The window from which he attempted to escape the Tower was bricked up and can still be seen to this day.