Llywelyn's coronet

This image is of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Prince of Wales, crowned and seated beneath his personal arms. The entire picture depicts his homage to King Henry III of England in 1267 but was painted after the event.

Llywelyn's coronet (Welsh: Talaith Llywelyn) is a lost treasure of Welsh history. It is recorded that Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Prince of Wales and Lord of Aberffraw had deposited this crown (Welsh: Talaith) and other items (such as the Cross of Neith) with the monks at Cymer Abbey for safekeeping at the start of his final campaign in 1282. He was killed later that year. It was seized alongside other holy artefacts in 1284 from the ruins of the defeated Kingdom of Gwynedd. Thereafter it was taken to London and presented at the shrine of Edward the Confessor in Westminster Abbey by King Edward I of England as a token of the complete annihilation of the independent Welsh state.[1]

A 16th century illustration by Lewys Dwnn of the "Arms of Wales" which shows the Crown of the Principality surmounting the Arms. In this illustration the "crown" is clearly a coronet and of a curious design. Given that Llywelyn's crown was still in existence at this time and in the possession of the English monarch then this may be a representation of what that original Welsh crown looked like as seized by Edward I in 1283.

Llywelyn's successor was his brother, Dafydd, who claimed Llywelyn's title of Tywysog as Tywysog Cymru or Prince of Wales. His reign was extremely brief; he was killed not long after his brother, without ever having been able to reclaim the precious items from Cymer Abbey.

  1. ^ "Wales: History 1066 to 1485 (Hutchinson encyclopedia article)".