Gwenllian of Wales
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Gwenllian ferch Llywelyn (circa June 12, 1282-June 7, 1337) was the only known child of Llywelyn the Last. She is sometimes confused with Gwenllian ferch Gruffydd, who lived two centuries earlier.
She was born in Abergwyngregyn near Bangor, Gwynedd on June 12, 1282. Her mother was Llywelyn's wife, Eleanor de Montfort, who died in childbirth.
Just a few months after Gwenllian's birth, her father Llewelyn was killed in battle. Her uncle, Dafydd ap Gruffydd, assumed her guardianship for a brief time — when she was about a year old, Dafydd was captured and executed by King Edward I of England, who had succeeded in bringing all of Wales under his control.
Though Edward allowed Llywelyn and Dafydd's children to live, he ensured that none of them would be a challenge to his rule by placing the boys in captivity and the girls in convents. Gwenllian was placed in the Gilbertine priory at Sempringham, and her father's title of Prince of Wales was given to the future Edward II of England who was the eldest son and heir of his namesake father. Several romantic legends grew up about Gwenllian's later life, but her true history is well recorded.
In committing her to a convent, Edward's aim was not only to prevent her marrying and having children who might claim the principality, but he sought to hide her from the outside world. He chose the Gilbertines in Lincolnshire both because of their remote location and because they were an order with large communities, where the children would not stand out so much. His grandson, King Edward III, endowed Gwenllian with a pension of £20 per year — a very large sum at that time. Gwenllian remained at the priory the rest of her life — a total of 54 years. Her death was recorded by the priory's chronicler Piers Langtoft.
The Princess Gwenllian Society has been formed in honour of this princess, and a memorial to her has been erected on the site of the former convent at Sempringham. Gwenllian is now regarded as a symbol of the Welsh spirit of independence.
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