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Born at Monmouth, one of the most famous of English kings

2014-09-16T08:08:43+00:00

Henry V is one of the most famous of all English kings. However, the perception of most people has been formed not by reading history books but by watching Shakespeare's plays. Henry features in three of them: two as heir apparent and, perhaps more memorably, as the friend of Sir John Falstaff and one as the actual king.

The second English king from the House of Lancaster, Henry succeeded to the throne in 1413. In a brief reign of just nine years he won the Battle of Agincourt and very nearly managed to bring the whole of France under his control. Had he succeeded it would have ended the Hundred Years War and the whole history of Europe would be different.

Arguably, like Richard the Lionheart, Henry was not a particularly good monarch or ruler of England. Most of his short reign was spent in campaigning and advancing English claims to the throne of France. Good king or not, Henry was certainly a great soldier and much of his skill in the military arts was learned in Wales, fighting against the forces of Owain Glyndŵr.

Henry was born in a tower above the gatehouse at Monmouth Castle. Indeed, for much of his short life he was actually known as Henry of Monmouth.

Ruins of Monmouth castle

Photo © Richard Croft and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

The son of Henry Bolinbroke and his 16-year-old wife Mary de Bohun, the new infant was also the grandson of the powerful and influential John of Gaunt. He might have had important family links but he was so far removed from the succession that his birth was not officially documented and there has always been some debate about the actual birth date. 9 August has been put forward as one possibility, 16 September as another.

Even the year of his birth is unclear – was it 1386 or 1387? The jury remains out although most people now believe that 16 September 1386 was when the future King Henry V entered the world.

Henry lost his mother in 1394 when she died in childbirth and he was brought up by his maternal grandmother, the Duchess of Hereford. He was taught the rudiments of soldiering and armed combat by Harry "Hotspur" Percy and educated by his uncle, Cardinal Henry Beaufort. It meant that the young man had a wonderfully rounded education and outlook on life.

Nevertheless, Henry grew up cold and distant. His one interest in life was soldiering. Henry's relationship with his father was, at best, turbulent and when Bolinbroke was forced into exile the young Henry of Monmouth was taken into the household of the king, Richard II. It was not quite captivity but the young man was certainly kept by the king as a type of protection against any further action by the Lancastrian faction.

Henry and Richard grew fond of each other and it has been said that maybe, just maybe, Henry had more affinity with the man who was soon to be deposed by Bolinbroke than he ever did with his own father. He went campaigning in Ireland with Richard and was knighted by him in 1399.

That same year Henry's father returned from exile, overthrew Richard and proclaimed himself king. Loyalty and friendship notwithstanding, Henry was not going to miss a chance like this and immediately fell in with his father's wishes. The young Henry was made Prince of Wales on the very day of his father's coronation.

As a usurper, Henry IV faced regular uprisings and rebellions. One of the most significant was by Owain Glyndŵr and almost from the beginning of his father's reign the new Prince of Wales found himself at the head of an army, fighting in the Welsh marshes and hills.

The campaigns against the Welsh prince taught Henry a lot about various aspects of war, notably the establishment and conduct of sieges.

Engraving depicting Henry V at the Battle of Agincourt. Image: iStockphoto.com/duncan1890

It was a skill he would later use to great effect in the sieges of Harfleur and Rouen. The war in the west ground relentlessly on for nearly 10 years but it was mainly thanks to Henry's military skills that the Glyndŵr rebellion eventually ran out of steam.

Harry Hotspur had thrown in his lot with Glyndŵr but in July 1403 at a pitched battle near Shrewsbury, Henry defeated the Percys and effectively secured the throne for his father. An arrow wound to the face could have been fatal but revolutionary treatment by John Bradmore, the royal physician, saved the prince's life. Having used a new tool to screw out the broken arrow shaft, Bradmore then used honey and alcohol to clean and cauterise the wound, leaving Henry with severe scaring but his life intact.

Henry became king on the death of his father in 1413. Almost immediately he began to plan his campaign in France. It culminated in the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 when Henry's much smaller army defeated the mighty French force. Harfleur was captured the following year and between 1417 and 1419 the English king was campaigning relentlessly in Normandy.

Henry died suddenly and unexpectedly on 31 August 1422 from dysentery contracted during the siege of Meaux. He was a young man with significant Welsh connections but he remains the quintessentially chivalric figure of English folklore and legend. It is a reputation that, perhaps, hides his shortcomings as the leader of his country.

Richard of York gave battle with Wales

2013-02-04T16:38:31+00:00

Richard III, whose mortal remains were discovered underneath a car park in Leicester, met his grisly end at the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, which brought the House of York to a close and established Henry VII as the first monarch of the Tudor dynasty.

Skull of Richard III (photo: University of Leicester)

Yet Henry's victory nearly didn't happen at all. And when it did, it was due in no small part to a Welsh soldier and landowner, Rhys ap Thomas.

Henry Tudor had been born at Pembroke Castle on 28 January 1457. His mother was Lady Margaret Beaufort, the 14-year-old Countess of Richmond; his father Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond, had died shortly before Henry's birth.

The Tudors originally came from Anglesey, and rose up through the court of Henry V. Henry Tudor's rather tenuous claim to the throne came through his mother, who was great-granddaughter of John of Gaunt, the third son of Edward II. Henry Tudor spent the first 14 years of his life in Wales, but the next 14 in Brittany and France.

Richard III had seized the throne in 1483, after disposing of his nephews and executing his enemies to clear the way for his accession. The move gave rise to a conspiracy to depose the unpopular Richard and install Henry Tudor as king.

Henry, the remaining last Lancastrian nobleman with a claim to the throne, was living in exile in the Duchy of Brittany, but made plans to return to England and join the uprising.

An early attempt in October 1483 was curtailed after Henry's ships were scattered by a storm. His highest-ranking co-conspirator, Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, was to have led forces from south Wales, but the king's men destroyed bridges over the River Severn, and captured and later executed the duke.

The survivors of the uprising fled to Brittany, and several months passed before they attempted another insurrection. Henry began crossing the English Channel on 1 August 1485, landing at Milford Haven six days later. He swiftly captured Dale Castle to shore up his immediate position.

Despite his Welsh heritage, there was no warm welcome for Henry. Few Welshmen joined his army as it began its progression towards England, although he fared better in Haverfordwest, where key local leaders defected from Richard.

The most important defector at this stage was Rhys ap Thomas, Richard III's principal lieutenant in south west Wales. Rhys is said to have previously taken an oath declaring that: "Whoever ill-affected to the state, shall dare to land in those parts of Wales where I have any employment under your majesty, must resolve with himself to make his entrance and irruption over my belly."

A somewhat fanciful legend tells of Rhys lying under a bridge to allow Henry's army to march over his body without breaking the oath.

Henry took his men towards England via Aberystwyth, while Rhys travelled south, recruiting 500 men before joining Henry's army at Welshpool. Although his intended goal was London, Henry first headed towards Shrewsbury, gathering more troops on the way.

The king's army reached Leicester on 20 August, camping on Ambion Hill ready to intercept Henry's march on the capital. Richard had around 10,000 men with him, after being joined by armies led by the Duke of Norfolk and the Earl of Northumberland.

In contrast, Henry Tudor had around 5,000 men, including French mercenaries and Scottish soldiers. The bulk of his men, however, were the Welsh recruits brought by Rhys ap Thomas.

The balance of power in the forthcoming battle, however, was held by the 6,000 men led by Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby, and his younger brother Sir William Stanley. The Stanleys were sympathetic towards Henry, but declined to enter battle until they saw which way the wind was blowing. This gave Henry no choice but to begin fighting without their support.

Henry gave control of his army to his principal military commander, John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford. It was Oxford's strategy of keeping his troops close together that saved Henry's army from being overwhelmed by Richard's greater numbers.

As the two armies clashed at Bosworth Field on 22 August 1485, Oxford's men proved the more resilient. Fearful of defeat, Richard signalled for Northumberland to come to his aid, but the earl refused. Henry chose this moment to ride towards the Stanley brothers, who were stationed nearby with their soldiers, ready for battle.

Spotting his chance, Richard led a group of up to 1,000 knights around the battlefield, intending to cut off and kill his opponent. In the bitter fighting that followed Henry's bodyguards closed rank and defended their leader.

Seeing Henry surrounded, the Stanleys entered battle against Richard's men. The king was unseated from his horse as his army was pressed back into marshland. He fought to the bitter end but was eventually surrounded and killed by Welsh spearmen.

According to Welsh poet Guto'r Glyn, it was Rhys ap Thomas who killed Richard. He wrote that Rhys "killed the boar, shaved his head," although this may have meant that it was his halberiers that struck the fatal blows. Rhys was nonetheless knighted on the battlefield once Henry's victory was complete.

Skeleton of Richard III (photo: University of Leicester)

Richard's forces fell apart as news spread of his death. His body was stripped, tied to a horse and put on show in a Leicester church. Two days later it was interred in an unmarked grave in the church of the Greyfriars.

The church was demolished in the 16th century and its location was forgotten; eventually a city council car park was built on the site. Excavation began in August 2012, and in February the following year a skeleton found during the dig was announced as being Richard's.

Henry VII was the last king of England to win the throne in battle. He united the houses of York and Lancaster by marrying Elizabeth of York, and established the Tudor dynasty which ruled for more than 100 years. But it might never have happened without the support of Rhys ap Thomas and the other Welshmen who took part in the Battle of Bosworth Field.

The Queen in Wales

2012-04-24T10:44:22+00:00

This week the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh will visit south Wales, as part of her diamond jubilee celebrations. On Thursday she will visit Llandaff Cathedral, previously the scene of a 1960 visit, before making her way to Margam Park and Merthyr. On Friday the royal party will visit Aberfan, Ebbw Vale and Glanusk Park near Crickhowell.

Llandaff Cathedral. Photo: Foomandoonian

The Queen's visit to Llandaff Cathedral in 52 years ago saw the rededication of the building following its extensive reconstruction from air raid damage sustained in 1941.

Five years previous to the Queen's visit to Llandaff the royal family engaged in a three-day tour of Wales. The 1955 Royal tour took place amid huge crowds from 6-8 August, starting in Brecon before heading west to Pembrokeshire and then up the west Wales coast to Aberystwyth and concluding back in Pembroke.

Day one of the 1955 tour saw the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh visit the Brecknock Agricultural Show near Brecon before she opened Swansea's new water source, the Usk reservoir near Llandovery.

Day two featured a visit to the tiny city of St Davids and a service at the historic cathedral. Following a meet and greet with the St David's lifeboat crew the royal couple headed back to their floating home, the Royal Yacht Britannia.

This clip shows Princess Anne and Prince Andrew making their way by rail from Buckingham Palace towards south Wales to join the party. There's also a bit of speedboat fun with the Duke of Cornwall, better known today as Charles, Prince of Wales, being whisked across the waves by his father, larking under the gaze of the Queen from the safety of the royal yacht.

This year, the royal party will be spending two days in Wales as part of a fairly comprehensive tour of the British Isles. Back in 1955 the three-day tour made its way to Aberystwyth where the Queen visited the university and gave a speech at the National Library of Wales before rounding off their tour of Wales at the birth place of Henry Tudor, visiting Pembroke Castle.

The death of Edward II - the Welsh connections

2011-10-12T12:30:32+00:00

The death of King Edward II of England is a relatively well known story - the time was that every schoolboy in the country would happily tell you he was murdered by having a red-hot poker thrust into a very painful part of his anatomy!

Edward II and Hugh Despenser sought refuge in Caerphilly castle

Whether or not that story is true remains a matter of some conjecture. But what is certainly true is the fact that Wales played a hugely important part in the king's downfall.

On 16 November 1326 Edward and his close friend (and probable lover) Hugh Despenser the Younger were captured by forces loyal to Queen Isabella, the king's own wife, whilst they were making their way from Neath Abbey towards Caerphilly Castle. The story of the king's journey from glory to ignominious failure in south Wales is both tortuous and compelling.

Edward's reign had been nothing short of disastrous. Succeeding his father, Edward I, in 1307, it seemed at first that he had all the kingly attributes.

Tall, strong and physically attractive, he had been born at Caernarfon castle. The story that Edward Longshanks presented his infant son to the Welsh leaders who had demanded a prince who could speak no English is patently untrue, like many of the stories surrounding this most ambiguous of men.

In 1308 he married Isabella of France but almost from the start the marriage was doomed. Edward was probably homosexual, and certainly bisexual. His preference for young men over his queen led him, first, to an intense friendship with Piers Gaveston and then with Hugh Despenser.

Military disasters like defeat in 1314 at the Battle of Bannockburn - arguably the greatest English defeat since the Battle of Hastings - and quarrels with his barons ensured that the king was enormously unpopular and mistrusted, both by the aristocracy and by ordinary people.

However, if the king was unpopular, the autocratic and greedy Despenser family were hated. As the rift between Edward and his queen grew ever wider, it seemed as though the Despensers (Hugh and his father, also called Hugh) became richer and more powerful every day.

Isabella fled to France for a while, returning on 24 September 1326 with her lover and ally Roger de Mortimer in an attempt to sweep Edward from the throne. Her army was small, consisting of barely 1,500 mercenaries, but as she and Mortimer marched on London supporters flocked to her banner and the king realised that he had to leave the city in order to ensure his own safety. He left with the Great Seal of England and something in the region of £30,000.

He fled westwards, towards Wales where Despenser held lands and, more importantly, the powerful fortress of Caerphilly Castle. However, arriving at the inland port of Chepstow, Edward and Despenser decided to take a boat. Whether they were intending to go to Lundy island - another Despenser possession - or to Ireland to gather support is not known. In the event the wind was against them and they spent five days pitching and tossing uselessly in the Bristol Channel.

By now Isabella had issued a proclamation saying that she had come to rid the land of the evil of the Despensers. As a result many Despenser properties were looted or burned and the king and his increasingly desperate friend realised that Caerphilly Castle offered their best chance of survival. Caerphilly was a massive and powerful structure, one that would withstand siege for many months, and it was here that the fugitives first went.

News soon reached them that Bristol Castle, held by the elder Hugh Despenser, had fallen to Isabella's forces and Despenser had been hung. For some strange reason, one that has never been fully explained, Edward and Despenser now left the safety of Caerphilly Castle and rode for Neath Abbey. They arrived on 6 November and remained there for two weeks.

Whether or not Edward thought the religious nature of the house would protect him has never been made clear but from the abbey Edward tried to negotiate peace, sending the abbot and Edward de Boun to his queen to parley and seek a compromise. When the delegates returned with a straightforward message - No! - Edward knew he had to return to the security of Caerphilly Castle.

He and his party had reached Llantrisant when they were surprised by forces led by Henry, Earl of Lancaster. Edward was detained overnight in Llantrisant Castle, already separated from his beloved Hugh Despenser. The end was now in sight.

The king was soon moved to Berkeley Castle across the border in England and was still imprisoned there when the announcement of his Deposition, quickly and easily passed by parliament, was made. His son, Edward III, was proclaimed king in his place on 25 January 1327.

After that the vengeance of Isabella was swift and decisive. Once she had Edward and Hugh Despenser in her power their lives were hanging by a thread and Despenser was quickly condemned. Stripped naked and with messages of hatred scrawled across his body, he was hanged, drawn and quartered. His head was then displayed on London Bridge.

Edward lingered, briefly, in Berkeley Castle. There were two attempts to rescue him by forces loyal to his name but in September 1327 it was announced that he was dead. It has never been totally clear how he died but it is certain that his life was ended on the orders of Queen Isabella.

He may have been strangled, possibly suffocated, but popular opinion will always tend to the view that his death came as a result of a red-hot poker inserted into his anus. Some people say that his screams could be heard for five miles around the castle. It does not bear too much thought.

The investiture of Edward VIII - success before tragedy

2011-07-25T10:22:41+00:00

No matter what your feelings or opinions about the post, position, honour (call it what you will) of Prince of Wales, the 1911 investiture of Edward, later king Edward VIII, has to be one of the most interesting moments in the long and often troubled relationship between Wales and England. With hindsight, it is also one of the saddest.

HRH the Duke of Windsor (became Edward VIII in 1936) broadcasting to the empire from Broadcasting House, April 1935.

Arguably, the last true Prince of Wales was Owain Glyndwr who was crowned in 1404 - although there are many who would say that Llywelyn, killed by the forces of Edward Longshanks in 1282, was really the last man to hold the title. The title of Prince of Wales as we know it was invented and first bestowed by Edward 1st in 1301, the recipient being his infant son.

Legend, of course, has had a field day with this event. The Welsh leaders, says the story, wanted a Prince who could speak no English. Edward gave them his baby son who could speak neither Welsh nor English. It is just a story and one that bestows far more credit on Edward than it does on the Welsh chieftains - which is what the circulation of the legend was all about anyway.

It quickly became traditional for English kings to make their heirs Prince of Wales. And to begin with the coronet of Llywelyn the Last - deposited by him for safe keeping with the monks at Cymer Abbey but which soon to fall into the hands of the avaricious Edward - was used in the ceremony.

Interestingly, a public investiture was not always thought to be necessary. The title Prince of Wales was created by Letters of Patent and the ceremony - usually held in front of the members of the Houses of Parliament - was only a formal piece of pomp. Nevertheless the coronet of Llywelyn was always used until it became too old and new ones had to be made.

George V ordered the coronet of George, Prince of Wales to be made for his investiture at the end of the 19th century and went on to wear it, both then and at his later coronation. When the time came for his son to succeed to the title he also used the coronet. When Edward (David as he was always known) went into exile after his abdication he took the coronet with him, something that was actually illegal. So when the time came for Prince Charles to be invested in 1969 another new coronet had to be made.

The decision to make the investiture of Prince Edward (Edward VIII as he became) a public occasion owed much to the machinations of David Lloyd George. Concerned about his own popularity - and the clear growth of Welsh nationalism - he persuaded King George V to agree to a public ceremony. This was most unusual and was undoubtedly playing on the king's immense popularity.

He had been a well respected prince of Wales who had taken considerable interest in his adopted country - as he did with many other parts of the British Empire. As a result there was a groundswell of support for the new king and a clear expectation that the title would quickly be passed on to his eldest son.

Edward was actually created Prince of Wales on his 16th birthday, 23 June 1910. The investiture came a year later, on 13 July 1911. Edward was duly dressed in ceremonial robes - a garb that he considered ludicrous - and underwent the Investiture ceremony at Caernarfon Castle. The location, once more, owed much to Lloyd George. It was a distant spot, hard to reach from other parts of Wales, let alone England, but it was in Lloyd George's constituency and was, of course, the place where Edward I had originally purloined the title back in the 14th century.

As Prince of Wales, Edward was hugely popular. He served with distinction in World War One and, during the Depression years, toured the badly hit parts of Britain - the Welsh mining valleys in particular. His phrase "Something must be done" when confronted by the poverty and hardship has gone down in folk lore.

Of course, nothing was actually done - either by the prince or by government. But it helped to increase Edward's popularity so that when the Wallis Simpson scandal finally erupted there was much sympathy for the Prince of Wales. Edward became king on 20 January 1936 and, unable to marry the woman he loved, a divorced American - how different things are these days - he abdicated on 10 December the same year. Sadly, he had spent 25 years as Prince of Wales, less than a year as king.

Whether or not Edward would have made a good king remains a matter of conjecture. Many people felt that he had been a good Prince of Wales. His story is a tragic one, a man who gave up a position of power and influence for the woman he loved - the most famous and renowned of all princes of Wales.

Royal weddings - the Welsh connections

2011-04-27T07:35:43+00:00

Over the past few months the media hype has slowly been building for the royal wedding, an event taking place in London this Friday, 29 April 2011.

This particular wedding remains very much an English affair but here in Wales we, too, have had our involvement in royal weddings of the past. And very often they have been events or occasions with more than a few political overtones.

Although not technically a 'royal' affair Gerald de Windsor was at the forefront of things back in the 12th century. In 1105 this Norman knight was appointed Royal Steward and Constable of Pembroke Castle.

Gerald was the man who held control of all the King's lands in west Wales and, in Pembroke Castle, commanded the most powerful military fortress in the country. By marrying Princess Nest, the daughter of Rhys ap Tewdwr, the most important Welsh prince south of Gwynedd, Gerald brought the region to an uneasy but ultimately rewarding truce.

Almost exactly a century later another royal marriage brought a degree of peace and stability to Wales. By 1199 Llewelyn Fawr had become the acknowledged ruler of Gwynedd, in effect the northern part and most powerful part of the country. In various campaigns he drove the Normans back beyond Offa's Dyke and made great inroads into Powys. He then turned his attention the southern part of Wales.

Llewelyn was so successful that in 1204 the English king, John, was forced to acknowledge him as Lord of Gwynedd. To seal the arrangement John gave Joan, his illegitimate daughter, to Llewelyn in marriage. The union did not end the various disputes but it was, by all accounts - and against all the odds - a loving relationship.

Joan proved to be a more than useful ambassador for Llewelyn, dealing frankly and openly with her father and, later, her half brother Henry III on his behalf. When Joan died in 1237 she was buried at Llewelyn's manor of Llanfaes in Ynys Mon and he even built a monastery to commemorate her life.

Perhaps the most significant Welsh connection with royal weddings came in 1501 when Arthur, the Prince of Wales and son of Henry VII, was married to the Spanish princess Katherine of Aragon. Born in 1486, Arthur was undersized and sickly but he was heir to the throne and everyone, king and courtiers alike, had a vested interest in keeping him alive and well. A return to the chaos of the Wars of the Roses was not to be countenanced.

Henry - of Welsh descent and born in Pembroke Castle - deliberately named his son after the legendary King Arthur who, many supposed, was himself a Welsh chieftain or cavalry leader. After a 'proxy' marriage to Katherine in 1499, the real wedding took place two years later when Arthur was 15 years old. He and his new bride then left London for Ludlow where Arthur was serving as head of the Council of Wales and the Marches.

And that was when British history changed. The young Prince of Wales and his princess fell dangerously ill, their fevers being attributed to the unhealthy climate of the Welsh border regions. Katherine soon recovered but Arthur, always an underdeveloped and wasting boy, grew steadily worse and died.

He was succeeded as heir - and as Prince of Wales - by his far more robust younger brother Henry. Rather than renegotiate the alliance and valuable dowry that Katherine had brought from her native Spain, Henry VII simply re-married her to the new heir.

When, years later, Henry VIII, as he had become, decided to divorce Katherine in favour of the younger Anne Boleyn, the whole divorce issue rested on one simple question: had Katherine and Arthur actually consummated their marriage?

The Pope had only approved the marriage between Henry and Katherine on the understanding that Katherine and her first husband, Henry's brother, had not been intimate during the brief three or four months of their relationship. It was a complicated affair that took several long months to sort out but it eventually led to the break with Rome, the English Reformation and the establishment of the Anglican Church - and all because of the weddings of two princes of Wales.

Another Prince of Wales whose marriage caused great interest for the general public was that of Victoria's son, Edward VII. He was a great rake and philanderer, including women such as Lillie Langtry and Alice Keppel in his list of acquaintances. Soon after the death of his father, Prince Albert, Edward was married to the Danish Princess Alexandra. How would Edward and Alexandra - Bertie and Alix as they were affectionately known - cope with the restrictions of marriage, people asked.

As far as Bertie was concerned it hardly affected him and he carried on much as before. Alix did better than anyone could have ever imagined. She came from the Danish Royal family, a family that was impoverished and almost penniless. Indeed, her father was so poor that he could not even afford to come to the wedding, which took place at St George's Chapel in Windsor in 1863. But Alix took to her new role, enjoying the trappings of royalty and turning a blind eye to most, if not all, of her husband's indiscretions.

Prince Charles and Princess Diana, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace after their wedding ceremony on 29 July 1981.

When Prince Charles married Lady Diana Spencer on 29 July 1981, she became the Princess of Wales. He had been invested as Prince in 1969, an event marked by more than a little nationalist unrest but, with marriage to Diana, new found popularity seemed to fall over the royal couple and they subsequently made many very successful visits to Wales.

Divorce and disclosures about their private lives unfortunately smashed away much of this popularity and now people await the new royal wedding, hoping it will bring happiness and enjoyment, not just to the royal couple but to all the population of Britain.

Follow the live coverage of the marriage of Prince William and Catherine Middleton on Friday 29 April on BBC Radio Wales or BBC One Wales.

Find out more about Welsh Royalty on the BBC Wales History website.

Henry Tudor, the Welsh King of England

2011-04-26T08:17:09+00:00

At the mighty Pembroke Castle in west Wales on 28 January 1457, the only Welshman ever to become king of England was born.

Henry Tudor

The man in question was Henry Tudor, who ruled for over 20 years as Henry VII and, perhaps more importantly for the history of this country, founded the Tudor dynasty which effectively created modern Britain.

He came to the throne at a troubled and chaotic time but in his 23 years at the helm he brought peace and stability to a realm that, for 30 years, had known only bloodshed and mayhem.

Henry's grandfather came from Ynys Mon - Anglesey, as the English knew it - and had served with honour and bravery in the French wars with Henry V. He fought at the Battle of Agincourt alongside the young king and was well respected by the royal family. Indeed, legend declares that he secretly married Henry's widow Catherine some time after the king's untimely death. His son, Edmund, was later declared legitimate and made Earl of Richmond in 1452.

The years after the death of Henry V saw the eruption of the Wars of the Roses, the great baronial houses of York and Lancaster fighting for control of the country and the throne. The trouble lay in the person of the new king, Henry VI. He was, initially, under age but when he did take over the trappings of kingship he was soon revealed as a weak and unstable leader who might well have had problems with his mental health.

With both York and Lancaster vying for control of the king - and therefore the right to rule or run the country - this was a period of confusion and terrible destruction. Battle followed battle, execution followed execution, with first one side, then the other, achieving superiority.

Henry Tudor's father, a Lancastrian, was heavily involved in the campaigns and the fighting. He was eventually captured by Yorkist forces and died at Carmarthen some three or four months before his son was born.

Edmund's brother, Jasper, Earl of Pembroke, then became protector of Edmund's widow, the 13-year-old Margaret Beaufort. She was ensconced in Pembroke Castle, the strongest and most prestigious castle in the country, and there she gave birth to Henry.

When the Yorkist Edward IV came to the throne in 1461 Jasper Tudor was forced to flee, taking sanctuary on the continent. William Herbert was given control of Pembroke Castle and the young Henry lived in his household until 1469. When, thanks to the wiles of Warwick the Kingmaker, Edward was briefly deposed and Henry VI returned to the throne, Jasper also came back, bringing the young Henry to court with him.

It was a brief sojourn as Edward was soon back in control and Jasper - and Henry - were forced to flee once more. Henry spent the next 14 years in exile in Brittany, albeit as the last and most significant opponent of the Yorkist cause. He made one attempt to invade but this failed dismally. And so, in 1485, it was with a degree of trepidation that Henry decided on a final throw of the dice.

Backed by a small force of French soldiers he landed at Mill Bay in Milford Haven and called all of Wales to rally to his banner. By now Edward had died and his brother Richard had seized the English throne. He was not unduly popular in Wales and so many noblemen and foot soldiers did quickly join Henry's growing force, notably the king's main officer in this part of Wales, Sir Rhys ap Thomas.

Legend and fact do blur somewhat at this time. There is a wonderful story of Sir Rhys - who had sworn to the king that Henry would land only "over my body" - lying under a bridge so that Henry could march his army over his prostrate form and thereby keep his word. A great story - but probably only that, a story!

Henry Tudor duly defeated Richard at the Battle of Bosworth Field and established his dynasty. During the build up to the battle he had unashamedly played on his Welsh origins, making great capital out of the old Welsh story of Y Mab Darogan - the son of prophesy - who, people believed, would lead the Welsh out of oppression. He, Henry claimed, was that man.

Yet once he became king Henry neatly turned his back on Wales, leaving the control and governance of the country to men like Sir Rhys ap Thomas. Again, it is only a story but many believe that Henry's old nurse at Pembroke Castle, the wife of Philip ap Howell of Carmarthen, actually taught him to speak Welsh. He certainly remained fond of her and when he became king one of his first acts was to award her a pension. It was something of a shame that he did not think so highly of the country of his birth.

Yet Henry's main concern was to bring stability and peace to all of Britain so it is perhaps understandable that Wales, safe in the capable hands of Sir Rhys ap Thomas, should be left alone. Over the next 20 or so years Henry VII destroyed the power of the barons, outlawed private retainer armies and made the country wealthy once more.

Henry's claim to the throne may have been weak - it was, ultimately, little more than the power of the sword. But this previously rather obscure nobleman, whose roots lie in an island off the north coast of the country, remains one of the most influential Welshmen in British history.

Read more about the Tudors on the BBC Wales History website.

How a village in Powys helped the future George VI

2011-02-14T12:20:39+00:00

Last night, The King's Speech won seven British academy awards (Baftas), winning both best film and outstanding British film.

Colin Firth won the best actor award for his portrayal of George VI struggling to overcome his stammer.

Prince Albert stayed at Clochfaen house for three weeks in 1917

BBC Wales News has an article on the little-known role that a small mid Wales village called Llangurig played in the health of the future king.

In September 1917, shortly after serving in the Battle of Jutland during World War I, Prince Albert was said to have suffered from the effects of a duodenal ulcer.

Prince Albert stayed in this bedroom at Clochfaen house

Clochfaen was an estate owned by Harry Lloyd-Verney near Llangurig on the banks of the River Wye. Lloyd-Verney was a senior member of the royal household at the time and the house, which was newly built, was considered to be the ideal location for the prince.

Although the future king was clearly taken by the tranquility of the area, it seems that the scenery was not enough to cure his health woes.

James Stirk, whose grandfather bought the house from the Lloyd-Verneys in 1928, and now helps to run Clochfaen as a holiday business, said:

"He travelled to Llangurig with his doctor Louis Greig and stayed for three weeks. According to a biography of George VI by [John] Wheeler-Bennett, Prince Albert wrote to his father from Clochfaen, depressed and saying he was not getting better and he needed an operation."

Clochfaen house is now run as a bed and breakfast and holiday cottage business

Read the full article on the BBC Wales News website.

The Last Prince of Wales

2010-12-10T14:44:48+00:00

On 11 December 1282, a small skirmish took place close to the River Irfon in Mid Wales.

The battle - if it can be called that - was fought between a party of mounted English knights and a group of unarmoured Welshmen who were clearly travelling on foot - an uneven contest if ever there was one.

The significance of the event, however, is not that the battle took place but in the simple fact that one of the casualties of that minor and otherwise insignificant skirmish was none other than Llywelyn, the last true Prince of Wales.

Llywelyn was the grandson of Llywelyn the Great, the man who had effectively kept the English kings out of Wales for many years and greatly reduced their influence in the Principality.

But by the time his grandson achieved manhood things had changed. The young prince inherited a country that was now under constant threat from its more powerful eastern neighbours.

Wales was divided, the Treaty of Woodstock ensuring that Llywelyn's native Gwynedd was partitioned between him and Dafydd, his younger brother. Such partition was, the English kings reasoned, the only way to keep the Welsh nation weak and so protect their vulnerable eastern border.

It was a situation that could not last. Chafing against such humiliation, Llywelyn first fought against his brother, then imprisoned him and finally declared himself sole ruler of Gwynedd, in direct contradiction to the Treaty of Woodstock.

The punitive and harsh treaty was something that Llywelyn and most Welshmen considered to have been unfairly forced upon them.

With Henry preoccupied with his warlike and rebellious Barons, in 1258 Llywelyn demanded that the lords of Deheubarth and Powys should swear allegiance to him rather than Henry, the English king, and formally adopted the title "Prince of Wales".

He then set off on a series of campaigns against the English and quickly regained lost territory in Gwynedd and Powys. He even found time to take Eleanor, daughter of Simon de Montfort, as his bride, sealing a powerful alliance with the English baron. As if bowing to the inevitable, Henry III formally recognised Llywelyn as Prince of Wales at the Treaty of Montgomery in 1267.

Although he was still expected to pay homage to the English king, Llywelyn had effectively created the Principality of Wales and for a few years an uneasy peace descended across the land.

When Henry died in 1272 he was succeeded by Edward I and for some reason - something that has never been made totally clear - Llywelyn refused to attend his coronation. On five occasions he was summoned to pay homage to the new king and each time he refused.

It was a deliberate snub that could, eventually, have only one result. In 1277 Edward invaded. The winter of 1277 was a hard one and Llywelyn's forces were pushed steadily back by the powerful war machine of Edward's England.

Soon Llywelyn was forced to ask for peace and by the terms of the Treaty of Aberconwy he was deprived of all his lands except those in Gwynedd that lay to the west of the River Conwy.

The next four years passed peacefully enough but Llywelyn was seething with resentment and, like the rest of his countrymen, was determined to end English influence in Wales. When, in March 1282, his brother Dafydd rebelled against Edward, a series of linked revolts broke out all across the country.

Llywelyn had little choice other than to join a rebellion that was clearly going to be a fight to the death.

To begin with the Welsh did well. Edward's army was soundly defeated at Llandeilo and an English seaborne force was destroyed in the Menai Straits.

Yet Llywelyn knew that the longer the war went on the more the balance of power would shift to Edward. He knew he needed more troops.

He went south to recruit soldiers and just outside Builth Wells learned of the presence of a large English force in the area. It was while he and a few followers were reconnoitering the English positions that he was surprised and attacked on the morning of 11 December.

The English knights charged the defenceless Welsh Prince and his party. Llywelyn had no option other than to make a run for cover but in the confusion Stephen de Francton plunged his lance into the unarmoured body of what he then thought was a simple Welsh foot soldier.

Only when he returned to the scene of the skirmish later in the day did de Francton realize he had killed the Welsh Prince and war leader.

Llywelyn's head was cut from his body and sent to London where the grisly object was displayed at the Tower for many months, a warning to all those who dared to defy the might of Edward.

In the wake of Llywelyn's death the rebellion quickly fell apart and within a few years Edward had mercilessly ground Wales beneath his iron foot.

The last Prince of Wales remains, now, as a symbol of a proud and determined people - and of the fight for freedom against oppression, from wherever it might come.

Princes of Gwynedd could boost Welsh tourism

2010-12-10T12:34:51+00:00

A heritage and tourism summit was held at the historic Plas Mawr Elizabethan Town House in Conwy yesterday.

The summit, organised by the Welsh Assembly Government and Cadw (the historic environment service of the Welsh Assembly Government) and involving European experts, discussed ways in which promoting Welsh heritage could boost Welsh tourism.

A recent report, Valuing the Welsh Historic Environment, calculated that heritage contributes £100 million each year to the Welsh Economy.

Recruiting tour guides and creating online Welsh history guides have already been identified by tourism organisation as ways of using Welsh history to increase revenue.

Marilyn Lewis, the director of Cadw, also said that there are opportunities to use the exciting and potent tales of Princess of Gwynedd to boost Welsh tourism, and that these stories should be more widely told.

Read the full article in the Daily Post.

Read about the Princess of Gwynedd - Llewelyn the Great and his grandson Llewelyn on the Wales history website.

Prince Madoc and the Discovery of America

2010-10-11T07:25:20+00:00

Who discovered America? It's a simple question and one that usually brings the standard response - Christopher Columbus. But here in Wales we have our own theory. And that theory says that America was actually discovered 300 years before Columbus sailed "the ocean blue" in 1492 - and more importantly, that it was discovered by a Welshman.

Mandan Indians used Bull Boats for transport and fishing that are identical to the Welsh coracle.

The man in question was Prince Madoc, the son of Owain Gwynedd, one of the greatest and most important rulers in the country, and while the legend cannot be corroborated there are many who believe it implicitly. Owain Gwynedd certainly existed, his reign being marred by long and hard-fought disputes with Henry II, king of England.

The story goes that in 1170 Owain died and, almost immediately, a violent and very bloody dispute arose between his 13 children regarding the succession. Madoc and his brother Rhirid were so upset and angered by events that they decided they wanted no further part in what was happening. Indeed, they wanted nothing more to do with their family or their homeland. They duly took ship from Rhos on Sea (Llandrillo) and sailed westwards to see what they could find.

What Prince Madoc found, so the legend runs, was America. He and his brother managed to cross the Atlantic and land on the shores of the New World. Madoc returned to Gwynedd for more men, then sailed off again, this time never to return. His sailors inter-married with a local Native American tribe and for years the rumour of Welsh speaking Native American tribes was widely believed. It is, of course, the stuff of legend but like all good legends it has at least a grain of truth about it.

As America was explored and colonised several Native American tribes were discovered, speaking a language that did actually sound quite like Welsh. That was not the only connection. The Mandan Indians used Bull Boats for transport and fishing, vessels that were identical to the famous Welsh coracles. It was all too good for storytellers and poets to ignore. The legend lasted well into the 19th century and even the explorers Lewis and Clark were instructed to keep their eyes open for these "Welsh speaking Indians" while they were trekking through the interior of the country.

The earliest reference to such a people can be found in a Welsh poem by Maredudd ap Rhys who lived and wrote in the years between 1450 and 1483. However, it was during the Elizabethan period that the story gathered momentum and grew.

There was a political agenda behind the spreading of the legend - it was a ploy, used to assert the right of England to the lands of the New World. Put quite simply, Welsh colonisation of America, many years before, was a convenient justification for Elizabethan settlement in a territory that had already been claimed by Spain.

Starting with Humphrey Llwyd in 1559, the story was embroidered and developed - the detail of the Welsh speaking tribe comes from this period. Even recognised experts in the field of navigation and exploration, men such as Richard Hakluyt, consciously and deliberately wrote about the legend as if it were the absolute truth. Sadly, there is no absolute historical or archaeological proof - even Lewis and Clark were unable to find that - but it remains a great story, one that we in Wales have taken to our hearts.

Other people have not been quite as happy to believe the story of Prince Madoc. In 1953 the Daughters of the American Revolution set up a plaque on the shores of Mobile Bay in Alabama. On the plaque it stated that it had been erected "In memory of Prince Madoc," who was in the opinion of the Daughters of the Revolution the original discoverer of America. The plaque did not last long and was soon removed by the Alabama Parks Department.

For Welsh men and women, however, the story of Madoc's discovery of America remains special - even if, in our heart of hearts, we know that it is probably not true. And as the saying goes, why let the truth get in the way of a good story?

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Welsh History Month on Wales Online

2010-09-21T10:53:28+00:00

Wales Online has added a new chapter to its Welsh History Month website today.

Huw Pryce, professor of Welsh history at Bangor University has written about the turbulent times in the 13th century when the Gwynedd princes dominated Wales.

Llewellyn Ap Gruffudd or Llywelyn the Last, the prince of Wales was killed on 11 December 1282. Professor Pryce examines the common view that Llewellyn's death is often considered to signal the end of hope of a dream of Welsh independence.

Find out more about the era of military expansion and political spin on the Wales Online's New Welsh History website.

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Glyndŵr sites preserved

2010-09-17T11:06:02+00:00

The site where Owain Glyndŵr was proclaimed Prince of Wales is to be rescued as part of a £2 million project to improve conservation and access for a number of medieval monuments across Wales.

The man-made, tree-covered mound at Glyndyfrdwy near Corwen, which is at risk of collapse, is considered to be the site of Glyndŵr's house, and is where he raised the standard of revolt against the English rule on 16 September 1400.

Read more on the story on the Daily Post website.

Glyndŵr's daughter Catrin was also remembered this week, as a statue to commemorate her life was re-unveiled in London by Welsh actress Sian Phillips.

Catrin Glyndŵr was captured by Henry IV's troops at Harlech castle in 1409. She was then held with her children at the Tower of London, where she died in 1413. She was buried in nearby St Swithin's churchyard.

In the 1960s the church was demolished but pressure from campaigners ensured that a memorial was commissioned. It was unveiled in 2001 but for the past three years the statue has been covered while building work has taken place at the tower.

Read more on the story on the Wales Online website.

Read Owain Glyndŵr: Seeds of Revolt on BBC Wales History.

Queen In Caernarfon after 35 Years

2010-04-27T11:58:17+00:00

During her 40 minute visit to Caernarfon castle, she will see an exhibition about the investiture.

Wales History has a timeline that traces the main events and highlights of the investiture that you can explore.

Our archive clips capture some great moments from previous royal tours, including a news item from 1949, when a young Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh visit the University of Wales at Bangor.

Other highlights include the Queen meeting a naughty Welsh pony called Owian Glydwr at the Brecon and Brecknock Agricultural Show in 1955.

If you have any memories of previous royal visits BBC Wales history would love to hear them. If you want to add a comment to the Wales History blog (or any BBC blog) you will need to sign in to your BBC iD account. If you don't have a BBC iD account, you can register here. Read about BBC iD.

Battlefields of Wales

2010-04-26T14:20:49+00:00

According to the writer Tacitus, the waters of the Menai Straits ran red with blood on the day of the battle as the Romans massacred every man, woman and child they could find.

Historical locations like Caerwent and Caerleon also undoubtedly saw many battles and skirmishes before the Romans finally abandoned Britain in the fifth century.

Almost any of Wales' castles - apart from Manorbier in Pembrokeshire, which seems to have been by-passed by history - saw violent military action. But it is in the wars between Edward I and Llywelyn, the Last Prince of Wales, that we find some of the most interesting and atmospheric battlefields.

In December 1282, Llywelyn left his traditional homelands in Gwynedd and went south to Builth Wells to recruit more soldiers for his desperate defence of Wales.

On December 11 1282, shortly after crossing the River Irfon outside the town, he and a small band of followers were surprised by a party of mounted English knights. Stephen de Francton plunged his lance into the body of an un-armoured Welsh soldier - only later did he realise that he had killed the last Prince of Wales.

During the English Civil War many battles fought on Welsh soil, none bloodier than the Battle of St Fagans which took place on May 8 1648 - the site of the battle can be seen when visiting the National Museum of Wales, St Fagans.

The siege of Pembroke Castle, following on the heels of the St Fagans battle, lasted for eight weeks, part of the siege being conducted by none other than Oliver Cromwell himself.

The Napoleonic Wars saw something of a "non-battle" when the French Legion Noire landed at Fishguard in February 1797. For three days they rolled in a drunken melee around north Pembrokeshire, out of control and with no idea of what they were supposed to do, before finally surrendering to Lord Cawdor.

There was no battle but several skirmishes took place and visitors can still visit the site of the French encampment and the farmhouse where the French leader, General Tate, had his headquarters.

The Royal Oak, the public house where the surrender was signed, lies in the middle of the town.

There is hardly a place in Wales that does not have some connection with the country's violent past. And whether it be a major battle or an event like the Rebecca Riots of the 1840s when workhouses and turnpikes across Wales were burned by men dressed in women's clothes, it remains a fascinating part of Welsh history.