The Principality of Wales () was originally the territory of the native Welsh princes of the House of Aberffraw from 1216 to 1283, encompassing two-thirds of modern Wales during its height of 1267–1277. Following the conquest of Wales by Edward I of England of 1277 to 1283, those parts of Wales retained under the direct control of the English crown, principally in the north and west of the country, were re-constituted as a new Principality of Wales and ruled either by the monarch or the monarch's heir though not formally incorporated into the Kingdom of England. This was ultimately accomplished with the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542 when the Principality ceased to exist as a separate entity.

The Principality was formally founded in 1216 by native Welshman and King of Gwynedd, Llywelyn the Great who gathered other leaders of pura Wallia at the Council of Aberdyfi. The agreement was later recognised by the 1218 Treaty of Worcester between Llywelyn the Great of Wales and Henry III of England. The treaty gave substance to the political reality of 13th-century Wales and England, and the relationship of the former with the Angevin Empire. The principality retained a great degree of autonomy, characterized by a separate legal jurisprudence based on the well-established laws of Cyfraith Hywel, and by the increasingly sophisticated court of the House of Aberffraw. Although it owed fealty to the Angevin king of England, the principality was de facto independent, with a similar status in the empire to the Kingdom of Scotland.

thumb|right|250px|Wales c. 1217. Yellow: areas directly ruled by Llywelyn; Grey: areas ruled by Llywelyn's vassals; Green: Anglo-Norman [[marcher lordships in Wales.]]

Early in 1212 Llywelyn had regained the Perfeddwlad and burned the castle at Aberystwyth. Llywelyn's revolt caused John to postpone his invasion of France, and Philip Augustus, the King of France, was so moved as to contact Llywelyn and propose that they ally against the English king, He was acknowledged by the Pope as Prince of Wales for a time and defeated Henry III in battle in 1245 during the English king's second invasion of Wales. A truce was agreed in the autumn, and Henry withdrew, but Dafydd died unexpectedly in 1246 without issue. His wife, Isabella de Braose, returned to England; she was dead by February 1248.

Dafydd ap Gruffudd 1282–83

Dafydd assumed his elder brother's title in 1282 and led a brief period of continued resistance against England. He was captured and executed in 1283.

Government, administration and law

thumb|200px|left|Drawing of a Welsh judge from the Peniarth 28 manuscript.

The political maturation of the principality's government fostered a more defined relationship between the prince and the people. Emphasis was placed on the territorial integrity of the principality, with the prince as lord of all the land, and other Welsh lords swearing fealty to the prince directly, a distinction with which the Prince of Wales paid yearly tribute to the King of England. By treaty, the principality was obliged to pay the kingdom large annual sums. Between 1267 and 1272 Wales made a total payment of £11,500, "proof of a growing money economy... and testimony of the effectiveness of the principality's financial administration," wrote historian Dr. John Davies. The Aberffraw dynasty maintained vigorous diplomatic and domestic policies; and patronized the Church in Wales, particularly that of the Cistercian Order.

The princely court

At the end of the twelfth century, and beginning of the thirteenth century, Llywelyn ab Iorwerth (Llywelyn Fawr or Llywelyn the Great), built a royal home at Abergwyngregyn (known as Tŷ Hir, the Long House, in later documents) on the site of the subsequent manor house of Pen y Bryn. To the east was the newly endowed Cistercian Monastery of Aberconwy; to the west the cathedral city of Bangor. In 1211, King John of England brought an army across the river Conwy, and occupied the royal home for a brief period; his troops went on to burn Bangor. Llywelyn's wife, John's daughter Joan, also known as Joanna, negotiated between the two men, and John withdrew. Joan died at Abergwyngregyn in 1237; Dafydd ap Llywelyn died there in 1246; Eleanor de Montfort, Lady of Wales, wife of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, died there on 19 June 1282, giving birth to a baby, Gwenllian of Wales.

Population, culture and society

The 13th-century Principality of Wales encompassed three-quarters of the surface area of modern Wales; "from Anglesey to Machen, from the outskirts of Chester to the outskirts of Cydweli," wrote Davies.

The principality's administration was overseen by the Prince of Wales's council comprising between 8 and 15 councillors sitting in London or, later, Ludlow in Shropshire. The council acted as the principality's final court of appeal. By 1476, the council, which became known as the Council of Wales and the Marches, began taking responsibility not only for the principality itself but its authority was extended over the whole of Wales.

For lands under royal control, the administration, under the Statute of Rhuddlan, was divided into two territories: North Wales based at Caernarfon and West Wales based at Carmarthen. Under them were royal officials such as sheriffs, coroners, and bailiffs to collect taxes and administer justice. Another county, Flintshire, was created out of the lordships of Tegeingl, Hopedale and Maelor Saesneg, Criminal law became entirely based on common law: the statute stated that "in thefts, larcenies, burnings, murders, manslaughters and manifest and notorious robberies – we will that they shall use the laws of England". However, Welsh law continued to be used in civil cases such as land inheritance, contracts, sureties, and similar matters, though with changes, for example, illegitimate sons could no longer claim part of the inheritance, which Welsh law had allowed them to do. In 1301, this modified principality was bestowed on the English monarch's heir apparent and thereafter became the territorial endowment of the heir to the throne.

There were few attempts by the English parliament to legislate in Wales and the lands of the principality remained subject to laws enacted by the king and his council. However, the king was prepared to allow Parliament to legislate in emergencies such as treason or rebellion. An example was the Penal Laws against Wales 1402 enacted to contain the Glyndŵr Rising and which, inter alia, prohibited the Welsh from intermarrying with the English or owning land in England or the Welsh boroughs.

Castles, towns and colonisation

Edward's main concern following the conquest was to ensure the military security of his new territories and the stone castle was to be the primary means for achieving this. Under the supervision of James of Saint George, Edward's master-builder, a series of imposing castles was built, using a distinctive design and the most advanced defensive features of the day, to form a "ring of stone" around the northern part of the principality. Among the major buildings were the castles of Beaumaris, Caernarfon, Conwy and Harlech. Aside from their practical military role, the castles made a clear symbolic statement to the Welsh that the principality was subject to English rule on a permanent basis.

Outside of urban areas, the principality retained its Welsh character. Unlike in some of the newly created Marcher lordships, such as Denbigh, there was little evidence of the successful colonisation of rural areas by English settlers. For the royal shires, Edward established a series of new towns, usually attached to one of his stone castles, which would be the focus of English settlement. These "plantation boroughs", often with the castle constable as town mayor, were populated by English burgesses and acted as a support for the royal military establishment as well as being an anglicizing influence. Examples include Flint, Aberystwyth, Beaumaris, Conwy and Caernarfon.

The boroughs were given economic rights over the surrounding Welsh rural areas and prospered as a result. For example, the burgesses of Caernarfon had a monopoly over trade within eight miles of the town. The burgesses of Carmarthen were given the right to raise taxes from the surrounding population to maintain their town walls. Royal ordinances initially prohibited the Welsh from becoming burgesses, owning land, or even residing in the "English" towns. The enforcement of these laws weakened over time and, although they were temporarily reinforced in 1402 by Henry IV's penal laws following the Welsh Revolt led by Owain Glyndŵr, they had largely been abandoned by the Tudor period. Even so, in the 14th century in particular, the privileged "English" boroughs were a focus of intense Welsh resentment and the English burgesses continued to hold the Welsh in disdain and sought to maintain their own distinctiveness and settlers' rights.

Nevertheless, there is ample evidence of the gradual assimilation of the two groups, not least through intermarriage. A town such as Aberystwyth had become entirely Welsh in character by the end of the medieval period. At the time of the union with England in the 16th century, English migrant ethnic origin ceased to have the same significance, although upward mobility was linked to anglicisation and use of the English language. Nevertheless, as late as 1532, a group of burgesses from Caernarfon bitterly complained that some of their number had let properties in the town to "foreigners", all of whom had Welsh names.

Plantagenet and Tudor princes

From 1301, the Plantagenet (and later, Tudor) English kings gave their heir apparent, if he was the king's son or grandson, the lands and title of "Prince of Wales". The one exception was Edward II's son, Edward of Windsor, who later became Edward III. On 7 February 1301, the king granted to Edward all the lands under royal control in Wales, mainly the territory of the former Principality. Although the documents granting the land made no reference to the title "Prince of Wales", it seems likely that Edward was invested with it at the same time, since, within a month of the grant, he was referred to as the "Prince of Wales" in official documents.

thumb|right|150px|Arms of [[the Black Prince, Prince of Wales 1343–1376. The arms are the origin of the modern insignia of the Prince of Wales's feathers]]

The following received the title while the Principality was in existence:

  • Edward of Caernarfon, later Edward II (Prince from 1301 until he became King in 1307)
  • Edward of Woodstock, the Black Prince (Prince from 1343 to his death in 1376)
  • Richard of Bordeaux, later Richard II (Prince from 1376 until he became King in 1377)
  • Henry of Monmouth, later Henry V (Prince from 1399 until he became King in 1413)
  • Edward of Westminster (Prince from 1454 until his death in 1471)
  • Edward of the Sanctuary, later Edward V (Prince from 1471 until he became King in 1483)
  • Edward of Middleham (Prince from 1483 to his death in 1484)
  • Arthur Tudor (Prince from 1489 to his death in 1502)
  • Henry Tudor, later Henry VIII (Prince from 1504 until he became King in 1509)
  • Edward Tudor, later Edward VI (Prince from 1537 until he became King in 1547, the last Prince of Wales created prior to 1542)

Welsh revolts

Madog ap Llywelyn led a Welsh revolt in 1294–95 against English rule in Wales, and was proclaimed "Prince of Wales".

Owain Lawgoch, a great-nephew of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd and Dafydd ap Gruffudd, claimed the title in exile in France and supporters revolted in his name across Wales between 1372 and 1378. He was assassinated before being able to return to Wales to lead them.

thumb|Owain Glyndwr statue, Corwen

left|thumb|upright=0.7|Banner of Owain Glyndŵr.

Owain Glyndŵr was crowned at Machynlleth in 1404 during a revolt against Henry IV of England. He claimed descent from Rhodri Mawr through the House of Powys Fadog. He went on to establish diplomatic relations with foreign powers and liberated Wales from English rule. He was ultimately unsuccessful and was driven to the mountains where he led a guerrilla war. When and where he died is not known, but it is believed he died disguised as a friar in the company of his daughter, Alys, at Monnington Straddle in Herefordshire.

Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542

The Principality ceased to exist as a legal entity with the passing by English parliament of the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542, without any representation from Wales. The act stated that Wales was already 'incorporated, annexed, united, and subjecte to and under the imperialle Crown of this Realme as a very member…of the same’.