One of the travesties of the Edwardian conquest of Wales was that after Llywelyn ap Gruffydd was assassinated, Edward made his own son, Edward II, the ‘Prince of Wales’. It was an epic snub. Since then, all of the heirs to the English throne have been termed ‘Prince of Wales’. None of them had any Welsh blood in the until Henry VII took the throne from Richard III after the Battle of Bosworth Field.
I’ve been doing some research, and it seems our current Prince of Wales, Charles, is a descendant of Henry VII:
Line of descent from Rhys ap Gruffydd to Elizabeth II:
Rhys ap Gruffydd —> Gwenllian —> Goronwy —> Tudur Hen —> Goronwy ap Tudur —> Tudur Fychan —> Maredudd ap Tudur —> Owen Tudor —> Edmund Tudor —> Henry VII of England —> Margaret Tudor —> James V of Scotland —> Mary, Queen of Scots —> James VI and I of Scotland and England —> Elizabeth of Bohemia —> Sophia of Hanover —> George I —> George II —> Frederick, Prince of Wales —> George III —> Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn —> Queen Victoria —> Edward VII —> George V —> George VI —> Queen Elizabeth II
Line of descent from Llywelyn the Great to Elizabeth II:
Llywelyn the Great —> Elen —> Hawise —> John Wake —> Margaret Wake —> Joan of Kent —> Thomas, 2nd Earl of Kent —> Alianore Holland —> Anne de Mortimer —> Richard, 3rd Duke of York —> Edward IV —> Elizabeth of York —> Margaret Tudor —> James V of Scotland —> Mary, Queen of Scots —> James I and VI of England and Scotland —> Elizabeth of Bohemia —> Sophia of Hanover —> George I —> George II —> Frederick, Prince of Wales —> George III —> Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn —> Queen Victoria —> Edward VII —> George V —> George VI —> Queen Elizabeth II http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20111208211712AAoVvmS
William, Charles’ son (#2 in line to throne), has this line, plus more Welsh blood through his mother, Diana is also descended from Henry VII (Henry Tudor) 19 generations back, when the daughter of Henry VII, Mary Tudor, married Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk. It was her brother who became Henry VIII. http://www.angelfire.com/mi4/polcrt/SpencerTree.html
Traceable ancestry isn’t the same as actual ancestry, of course.
Are their any living descendents of the ancient Welsh royalty who have more Welsh blood than the current “Prince of Wales” (shouldn’t be hard to be more Welsh than that)? How does the current English royalty treat the descendents of ancient Welsh royalty?
Yes, there are many descendants of Welsh royalty with more Welsh blood than the current prince (possibly my own children among them!). And the current Welsh royalty have no standing at all with the current English royalty since all Welsh royal trappings were eliminated by Edward I in 1282. Doesn’t seem fair, huh? The Welsh are a conquered peoples.
Very impressive research Sarah! Good to know Wales has its own royalty – though many times distant.
Thanks!
The chances are good that anyone with Western European ancestry is a descendant too.
Possibly. Kate Middleton doesn’t appear to have any Welsh ancestry, for example. You may be more likely to hit an American with Welsh ancestry than an English person!