Through his father, Owen Tudor, he was a direct descendant of Ednyfed Fychan, Llywelyn the Great's renowned Chancellor ; this added greatly to his status in Wales.

Llywelyn the Great's Castell y Bere in Wales

Llywelyn and other Welsh chieftains soon joined in, and initially the Welsh experienced military success.

Llywelyn was forced to seek terms and to give up all lands east of the River Conwy, but was able to recover them the following year in alliance with the other Welsh princes.

In 1211 John invaded Gwynedd with the aid of almost all the other Welsh princes, planning according to Brut y Tywysogion " to dispossess Llywelyn and destroy him utterly ".

The other Welsh princes, who had supported King John against Llywelyn, soon became disillusioned with John's rule and changed sides.

Llywelyn called up the other princes for a campaign against him and drove him out of southern Powys once more.

Until 1230 Llywelyn had used the title princeps Norwalliæ ' Prince of North Wales ', but from that year he changed his title to ' Prince of North Wales and Lord of Snowdonia ', possibly to underline his supremacy over the other Welsh princes.

In 1238 Llywelyn held a council at Strata Florida Abbey where the other Welsh princes swore fealty to Dafydd.

Llywelyn dominated Wales for over forty years, and was one of only two Welsh rulers to be called " the Great ", the other being his ancestor Rhodri the Great.

Notwithstanding his other actions, Peckham's relations with the king were generally good, and Edward sent him on a diplomatic mission to Llywelyn the Last in Wales.

Unlike many other 13th-century Welsh castles, Caerphilly Castle was not built by Edward I in his crack-down on the Welsh lords, but by Gilbert ' the Red ' de Clare, a powerful, red-headed nobleman of Norman descent, as a response to a dispute between him and the Prince of Gwynedd, Llywelyn the Last.

Llywelyn was forced to seek terms and to give up all his lands east of the River Conwy, but was able to recover these lands the following year in alliance with the other Welsh princes.

Llywelyn the Great was determined to enforce the right of legitimate sons in Welsh succession law to bring Gwynedd in line with other Christian countries in Europe.

Llywelyn refused to pay homage to the new king, partly because of the military actions of Bohun and other Marcher lords, which Llywelyn saw as violations of the Treaty of Montgomery.

Hereford and the other marcher lords used Llywelyn Bren's death as a symbol of Despenser tyranny.

The Principality of Wales was created in 1216 at the Council of Aberdyfi, when it was agreed between Llywelyn the Great and the other sovereign princes among the Welsh that he was the paramount ruler amongst them, and they would pay homage to him.

This title would be granted to his successor Llywelyn in 1267 ( after a campaign by him to achieve it ) and was later claimed by his brother Dafydd and other members of the princely House of Aberffraw.

Early in 1212 Llywelyn had regained the Perfeddwlad and burned the castle at Ystwyth. Llywelyn's revolt caused John to postpone his invasion of France, and Philip Augustus, the King of France, was so moved as to contact Prince Llywelyn I and proposed they ally against the English king King John ordered the execution by hanging of his Welsh hostages, the sons of many of Llywelyn's supporters Llywelyn I was the first prince to receive the fealty of other Welsh lords with the 1216 Council of Aberdyfi, thus becoming the de facto Prince of Wales and giving substance to the Aberffraw claims.

After various other unsuccessful attacks the castle fell in 1217 but was restored to the English in 1220 as part of the settlement between Llywelyn ap Iorwerth and Henry III of England.

Edward clashed with Llywelyn ap Gruffydd, who directly ruled the Kingdom of Gwynedd while other parts of the Principality of Wales were English-controlled Marcher Lordships existing since Norman times.

In those days great strife was bred at the instigation of the Devil between the sons of Gruffudd ap Llywelyn, Namely Owain Goch and Dafydd on the one side, and Llywelyn on the other.

* March 1 – Gruffyd ap Llywelyn, eldest, illegitimate son of Llywelyn the Great ( b. 1200 )

In 1240, the title was theoretically inherited by his son Dafydd ap Llywelyn, though he is not known to have used it.

His son Dafydd ap Llywelyn followed him as ruler of Gwynedd, but king Henry III of England would not allow him to inherit his father's position elsewhere in Wales.

He maintained his position in Wales until his death in 1240 and was succeeded by his son Dafydd ap Llywelyn.

Llywelyn was born about 1173, the son of Iorwerth ap Owain and the grandson of Owain Gwynedd, who had been ruler of Gwynedd until his death in 1170.

When John was forced to sign Magna Carta, Llywelyn was rewarded with several favourable provisions relating to Wales, including the release of his son Gruffydd who had been a hostage since 1211.

In his later years Llywelyn devoted much effort to ensuring that his only legitimate son Dafydd would follow him as ruler of Gwynedd and amended Welsh law as followed in Gwynedd.

Additionally, Prince Llywelyn arranged for his son Dafydd to marry Isabella de Braose, eldest daughter of William de Braose.

Dafydd deprived his half-brother Gruffydd of the lands given him by Llywelyn, and later seized him and his eldest son Owain and held them in Criccieth Castle.

In 1240 the chronicler of Brut y Tywysogion records: " the lord Llywelyn ap Iorwerth son of Owain Gwynedd, Prince of Wales, a second Achilles, died having taken on the habit of religion at Aberconwy, and was buried honourably.

This left the field clear for Dafydd, but Dafydd himself died without issue in 1246 and was eventually succeeded by his nephew, Gruffydd's son, Llywelyn the Last.

* Dafydd ap Llywelyn ( c. 1215 – 1246 ), son by Joan, Princess of Wales.

* Gruffydd ap Llywelyn ( c. 1196 – 1244 ), a son by Tangwystl Goch ( d. c. 1198 ).

* Helen ferch Llywelyn ( before 1230-after 16 Feb 1295 ) who married firstly Máel Coluim II, Earl of Fife, son of Duncan Macduff of Fife & his wife Alice Corbet.

In addition, late genealogical sources give one Tegwared ap Llywelyn, a son by Crysten.

Gruffydd ap Llywelyn ( c. 1196 – 1244 ) was Llywelyn's eldest son and known to be the son of Tangwystl.

In Bonedd yr Arwyr, his genealogy is given as Gwythyr son of Greidawl the son of Enfael the son of Deigyr the son of Dyfnwal the son of Ednyfed the son of Maxen the son of Llywelyn.

In 1282, Llywelyn was killed during Edward I of England's invasion of Wales, possibly by Sir Anthony de Tipton, who was knighted by the King of England afterward, and although his brother Dafydd ap Gruffudd succeeded to the Welsh princeship, issuing documents as prince, his principate was not recognised by the English Crown.

Llywelyn ap Gruffudd enjoyed an advantageous situation in the aftermath of the Barons ' War.

Further rebellions occurred in 1287 – 8 and, more seriously, in 1294with five under Madog ap Llywelyn, a distant relative of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd.

The scene shows Alexander III of Scotland and Llywelyn ap Gruffudd of Wales on either side of Edward ; an episode that never actually occurred.

Gruffudd had left four sons, and a period of internal conflict between three of these ended in the rise to power of Llywelyn ap Gruffydd ( also known as Llywelyn the Last Leader ).

Rhodri died in 1195, and his lands west of the Conwy were taken over by Gruffudd and Maredudd while Llywelyn ruled the territories taken from Dafydd east of the Conwy.

Llywelyn was probably not in fact master of all Gwynedd at this time since it was his cousin Gruffudd ap Cynan who promised homage to King John for Gwynedd in 1199.

Gruffudd ap Cynan died in 1200 and left Llywelyn the undisputed ruler of Gwynedd.

She married Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Prince of Wales, honouring an agreement that had been made between Earl Simon and Llywelyn.

* Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the first Prince of Wales

Brân is praised in the poetry of 12th century bard Cynddelw Brydydd Mawr, in which he is described as " a good commander of the host ; in battle, in hostile territory, in the contest, in stress ", while, in his elegy for Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Prince of Wales, Bleddyn Fardd compares the overthrow of the prince to the deaths of Llywelyn Fawr, King Arthur and Brân.

By the mid-eleventh century, Wales was united under Gruffudd ap Llywelyn of Gwynedd, until his death in 1063.

Gruffudd laid the foundations which were built upon by his son Owain Gwynedd and his great-grandson Llywelyn the Great.

According to the chroniclers, Nicholas Trivet, William Rishanger and others, Earl Simon had earlier made an alliance with Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, whereby it was agreed that Llywelyn and Eleanor would marry.

Countess Eleanor died in Spring 1275, and shortly afterwards Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the Prince of Wales, and Eleanor de Montfort married by proxy, ( per nuncios ) per verba de presenti ( Canon law endorsed a marital bond that was made in this way, with the full consent of both of the individuals, before witnesses ).

The Friary, on the opposite shore of the Menai to Abergwyngregyn, had been founded by Llywelyn Fawr, the grandfather of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, in memory of his wife Joan ( Eleanor's aunt ).

According to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a raid by Gruffudd ap Llywelyn on Leominster in 1052 resulted in the Battle of Llanllieni, between the Welsh and a combined force of Normans and English Saxons.

Thus the English interpreted the title of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Lord of Aberffraw, which was briefly held after his death by his successor Dafydd ap Gruffudd.