Page "Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau" Paragraph 10

The existence of a separate national anthem for Wales has not always been apparent to those from outside the country.

In 1993 the newly-appointed Secretary of State for Wales John Redwood was embarrassingly videotaped opening and closing his mouth during a communal singing of the national anthem, clearly ignorant of the words but unable to mime convincingly ; the pictures were frequently cited as evidence of his unsuitability for the post.

According to John Major's autobiography, the first thing Redwood's successor William Hague said, on being appointed, was that he had better find someone to teach him the words.

He found Ffion Jenkins, and later married her.