ORDOVICIUS

Welsh Visas

2009-07-12T15:57:00.006+01:00

The recent deportations of Welsh Patagonians isn't the first time the descendants of Welsh colonists from Argentina have been denied a visit to the Old Country, and it probably won't be the last.

This isn't a serious matter for UK authorities, who are ignorant of the cultural ties between Wales and Chubut, but it is an important enough one for Wales and needs to be addressed. These Welsh Patagonians have been invited here, they come for cultural reasons (eg to visit their ancestral home, study and practice Welsh, and frequent Eisteddfodau), the cost of a flight is far from cheap for Argentinians, and they aren't coming here as immigrants but as tourists.

Needless to say, Welsh Americans, Canadians and Australians don't have to go through the same rigmarole.

Given that the Welsh Government supports the plight of these Patagonians, perhaps it's time for an official solution to be formulated. Perhaps something like a Welsh Visa or WAG 'guest list', whereby visiting Patagonians who have sponsors from recognised Welsh Patagonian societies on both sides of the Atlantic are given an official 'approval' from WAG, which would then be passed on to the relevant UK authorities.

If there was a high number of visiting Welsh Patagonians, this would be impractical. But that isn't the case.

The secrets of citizen journalism

2009-07-09T11:06:00.002+01:00

This video from The UpTake demonstrates how citizen journalism can have an edge over the mainstream media.

Welsh wins its place in Brussels

2009-07-08T18:03:00.004+01:00

Tomorrow the UK's Permanent Representative to the European Union will sign a memorandum of understanding in Brussels that will officially allow Welsh speakers to correspond with the European Commission in the Welsh language.

This follows a long campaign by Plaid MEP Jill Evans to improve the status of the Welsh language at European level.

Jill has welcomed the news:

"I'm pleased that we've taken another step forward in boosting the status of the Welsh language at European level and raising the profile of Wales . It's right that Welsh speakers should deal with the European Commission in their language of choice.

“I am continuing to push the European Parliament to adopt better rules which allow the use of Welsh. I will be taking this up with the new President of the Parliament to be elected next week."

Holtham round-up

2009-07-08T17:22:00.002+01:00

Defending the indefensible (Adam Price MP)

Holtham (Marcus Warner)

The cost of devolution (Peter Black AM)

How Wales will be robbed of £8.5bn (Martin Shipton)

Boddi mewn geiriau (Vaughan Roderick)

Holtham Commission - Some initial thoughts (A Change of Personnel)

What We All Already Knew (Guerrilla Welsh-Fare)

What the Holtham Commission's interim report means (Eurfyl ap Gwilym)

Video: Gerald Holtham speaks to Politics Cymru (Politics Cymru)

Equality and human rights...just not in Welsh

2009-07-08T16:48:00.006+01:00

In October 2007 I pointed out that the Equality and Human Rights Commission was flagrantly ignoring the Welsh Language Act 1993 by ignoring the Welsh language on their website.

Seven months later the language's presence on the Commission's website had progressed from being non-existent to being half-arsed.

Despite promises to address the problem, and spending over a million quid of public money on the website, it is now devoid of any content in Welsh at all.

Tehran update

2009-07-07T13:12:00.003+01:00

Protest last Friday in Kashan University, Tehran.

Al Jazeera documentary "Mousavi and the Masses" (part 1), aired last Friday

"Mousavi and the Masses" (part 2)

Modus vivendi

2009-07-07T12:42:00.004+01:00

I read this tweet from Daran Hill from the 'One Wales, Two Years' conference yesterday during BBC political editor Vaughan Roderick's presentation there:

if tories get more seats than plaid in 2011, that will lead to a continuation of One Wales says Vaughan

A strange conclusion, I think. An increase in Tory seats at the Assembly inevitably requires a loss in seats for one of the other parties, and although Labour would in this scenario bear the main brunt of the losses, it might also include one or more of Plaid's regional seats. But even if Plaid increases the number of its seats, coming third would be tantamount to a defeat.

Plaid's ambition to be (or rather remain) a party of government is I believe dependent on the progress of another of its ambitions, namely to become the first party of Wales. In this context coming in second may not be seen as a setback, but coming in third at the Assembly is a completely different kettle of fish.

In short, if Plaid drops to third place, and especially if the number of Plaid AMs is diminished, then a continuation of the coalition with Labour would in my view be a strategical error. Plaid would have to return to the opposition in order to concentrate on rebuilding and increasing its support among the electorate.

Personally I doubt that this is a likely scenario for 2011, unless by some unforeseen twist of fate Gordon Brown wins next year's general election. A victory for the Tories in 2010 and the subsequent formation of an anti-intellectual English nationalist administration in Westminster - together with the almost inevitable conflicts between London and Cardiff that will arise as a result - should provide a boost in the polls for both partners of the One Wales government one year later.

The Jones Report

2009-07-06T19:58:00.002+01:00

The Roger Jones Report was unveiled today.

The report, Getting it right for Wales, is the result of a ten-month inquiry by an independent panel, chaired by Sir Roger Jones, that has developed a range of recommendations after taking evidence from members of the public, former and current Assembly Members and members of private and public sector bodies. The panel has also looked at how other parliamentary bodies, including those in Queensland and New Zealand, offer remuneration and financial support to its members.

Sir Roger Jones said:

"The timing of the commissioning of this review in spring 2008 is a testament to the Assembly’s long-standing commitment to accountability and transparency.

"I firmly believe that adopting the recommendations contained in the panel’s report will allow the National Assembly for Wales and Assembly Members to re-establish the necessary confidence and trust of the people of Wales in the devolved democratic process.

"Our recommendations will also firmly establish the National Assembly as a mature and truly devolved legislature that is taking the lead among the parliamentary bodies of the United Kingdom and strengthening democracy in Wales.

"One of the main recommendations in the report therefore is the immediate severance of the link between Assembly Members’ pay and that of Westminster MPs. It is neither desirable nor appropriate that such links are maintained.

"In addition, we are recommending the abolition of a number of payments relating to second homes, including the abolition of the entitlement to claim mortgage interest payments on Members’ second homes in Cardiff.

"We are also recommending that the number of Members entitled to a second home will be reduced from 51 to 25 - instead we suggest the Assembly provides them with rented accommodation in Cardiff Bay.”

"I firmly believe that the wholesale implementation of our recommendations will allow the Assembly to be a democratic body that serves the interests of Wales and is gets it right for Wales.”

Brussels bulletin: Stockholm and Sofia

2009-07-06T16:59:00.007+01:00

No July Vote on Barroso

This is Saturday’s press conference with Sweden’s prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt and French Presidency Nicolas Sarkozy, with translation into English. At this press conference, Reinfeldt says that there is not going to a vote on the future of Jose Manuel Barroso as president of the European Commission in the 2009-2014 period at the July session in Strasbourg. They also address other issues that will be on the EU radar in the coming months, including climate change, a carbon tax and the situation in Iran. [EUX TV]

Centre-right win Bulgarian elections

Bulgarians voted massively yesterday (5 July) against the socialist-dominated coalition which had governed the country for the past four years. A much wider margin of victory than anticipated for the centre-right GERB party will boot all three current members of the ruling coalition into opposition. [EurActiv]

The Socialists came second with barely 17.7 percent, followed by the ethnic Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) at 14.5 percent, the far-right Ataka (9.4%), and the right-wing Blue Coalition (6.7%).

Mr Borisov said he would now engage in talks with the right-wing groups that have made it in the parliament – the Blue Coalition, Ataka and the Order, Lawfulness, Justice party which obtained a little over the threshold of four percent (4.13%) – in order to try and form a right-wing coalition government. [EU Observer]

Uighur riots in Urumqi

2009-07-06T09:10:00.005+01:00

Muslim Uighurs riot as ethnic tensions rise in western China (guardian.co.uk)

China says 140 died in Uighur rioting (smh.com.au)

Urumqi in lockdown after Uighurs riot (The Australian)

Scores killed in China protests (BBC)

Scores dead in Xinjiang riot (Al Jazeera)

Welsh Politico 2009: The Panel

2009-07-05T22:18:00.002+01:00

Just a short note to say that the panel for this year's Welsh Politico will be the same as last year:

Alan Davies

Managing Director of Junction 31 and Director at Cymro Consulting

Daran Hill

Managing Director of Positif Politics and former Chair of Public Affairs Cymru

Richard Wyn Jones

Director, Wales Governance Centre and former Director of the Institute of Welsh Politics at the Department of International Politics, Aberystwyth University.

Adrian Masters

Presenter of the BBC Wales' Dragon's Eye.

PPB for the Bernie Ecclestone Party

2009-07-05T10:34:00.003+01:00

“Mr Ecclestone is either an idiot or morally repulsive."

[Stephen Pollard, editor of The Jewish Chronicle]

Or both.

Obama on the 4th of July

2009-07-04T14:10:00.002+01:00

The President recounts America’s great history of overcoming seemingly insurmountable challenges, and pledges to lead America in continuing that tradition. Focusing on creating a clean energy economy, comprehensive health reform, and revitalizing an education system in need of change, the President pledges not to leave these decades-old problems to yet another generation to solve. [White House]

Happy Independence Day, America.

Pink elephants on parade

2009-07-04T11:07:00.006+01:00

You know it's a slow news day when Martin Shipton comes up with stuff like this.

AN intriguing “tri-rainbow” coalition is being mooted by some Welsh Labour strategists, we can reveal.

Such an alliance would involve the Liberal Democrats joining Labour and Plaid Cymru in an enlarged left-of-centre Assembly Government after Rhodri Morgan steps down as First Minister.

Firstly the One Wales government has a massive majority in the Senedd, so who in their right mind would believe that they would want to share power with the Liberal Democrats? Secondly this would require the abandonment of the One Wales agreement. It's so pie-in-the-sky that it should have been published on April 1st, not July 4th.

Although the leadership of both Labour and Plaid Cymru dismissed the idea last night, well- placed sources within Welsh Labour insisted the prospect was a runner...

Would "well placed" mean "standing next to an exit" perchance?

Another Welsh Labour strategist said: “There would be another advantage in bringing the Liberal Democrats in. Three of the four Plaid ministers are doing a good job: Elin Jones is doing very well with Rural Affairs, it is generally agreed, Alun Ffred Jones is doing OK as Heritage Minister, and Jocelyn Davies is fine as Deputy Housing Minister.

“The one Plaid minister who is not doing well is Ieuan Wyn Jones, the party leader...

It would appear that "strategist" is now an euphemism for somebody in their cups. Now who was it that Ieuan upset on the Labour back benches recently...?

A spokesman for the Welsh Liberal Democrats said: “We are hearing similar things from within Labour, although no direct approach has been made to us.

“It’s the type of progressive solution that could be very good for Wales.

“Bringing us into government would make the coalition broader and would help dispel the negative view of some people that coalitions are more to do with stitch-ups and deals than they are about running the country.

And which "spokesman for the Welsh Liberal Democrats" was that pray tell? Martin forgot to discover how this statement squares with Kirsty Williams' views that the present administration is a "failure" and that "compromise" (a necessary feature of any coalition) is a dirty word.

Really, Martin; if you're going to go out on the piss with members of the Huw Lewis Fan Club then try to leave pen and notebook back at the office, eh.

Saddam speaks

2009-07-03T14:33:00.000+01:00

New details have emerged about Saddam Hussein, the former Iraqi president, after the FBI released secret interview notes taken while he was in US custody.

According to the FBI, Saddam misled the world into believing Iraq had weapons of mass destruction because he considered Iran - not the US - as the biggest security threat to his country.

Al Jazeera's Rob Reynolds reports.

One Wales, two years

2009-07-03T11:49:00.003+01:00

Last night Dragon's Eye did a piece on the second anniversary of the One Wales coalition.

Half way through the third assembly I think there is little room to doubt that the coalition will last the full term.

It's been pretty much steady sailing so far, but things should get very interesting indeed following the next general election; and when voters go to the polls in 2011 to elect the fourth assembly, it will be the final year of the One Wales administration that sticks most in their mind, not the first three.

Wolves in sheep's clothing

2009-07-03T09:09:00.003+01:00

Alwyn ap Huw picked up on an important point yesterday:

Whenever there is a news story about public expenditure one can almost guarantee that the report will contain a comment by a spokesperson from the Tax Payers Alliance, as has been seen today in reports about AMs using expenses to rent office space from their own parties.

The impression given is that the Tax Payers Alliance is a grass roots organization who's objective is to speak up for the ordinary men and women who pay the taxes that government spends. This is a very false impression.

The TPA is, in fact, an ultra right wing organization founded by loyal Thatcherites for the purpose of promoting the most discredited and unacceptable aspects of Thatcherite economic policy.

A website called 'The Other Taxpayers Alliance' goes into more detail:

The TaxPayers' Alliance is a tremendously successful campaign group. Barely a day goes by without Chief Executive Matthew Elliott appearing in the media, representing the views of "ordinary taxpayers". In fact never a day goes by: the Alliance boasts an average hit rate of 13 media appearances a day and puts the links on its website to prove it.

The problem is that it isn't an alliance of ordinary taxpayers at all. It is an alliance of right-wing ideologues. Its academic advisory council is a who's who of the proponents of discredited Thatcherite policies: Eamonn Butler and Marsden Pirie of the Adam Smith Institute, academics Patrick Minford and Kenneth Minogue, Margaret Thatcher's former economic advisor Sir Alan Walters, and others such as ex-Institute of Directors policy head Ruth Lea.

Not everything the TPA says is wrong. Who could disagree with its commitment to "criticise all examples of wasteful and unnecessary spending", or to putting 2012 London Olympic spending under scrutiny? But the Alliance's concern for better public spending is a stepping stone to its desire for less public spending. And far from being a voice for "ordinary" taxpayers, its policies – opposing all tax rises (what, for everyone, in any circumstance?) and backing a flat rather than progressive tax – will increase inequality and shift wealth from poor to rich.

And there's more:

For an organisation so concerned with transparency, the TaxPayers' Alliance is surprisingly opaque about its own finances. No list of donors is available. It states only that all donations are from private sources and that no single donation accounts for more that 5% of income. But 5% of what? The Alliance's 2006 accounts record an income of £130,000 – up from £68,000 in 2005 – but that seems hardly enough to sustain 10 full-time staff and offices in London and Birmingham. Let's hope those staff are at least paid the minimum wage and claim any tax credits due to them. In 2007 the TPA published "abbreviated" accounts, which meant income and expenditure were withheld.

As Alwyn says:

Whatever the rights or wrongs of the way that Assembly Members rent offices one has to remember that in commenting on the story the TPA is doing so from a political position of being ideologically opposed to the existence of the Assembly. Their comments should be seen in that context and the journalists using their comments should make that context clear.

It's about time the media got its act together.

Tehran update

2009-07-02T20:25:00.002+01:00

Al Jazeera reporting from Tehran yesterday.

CNN report yesterday on the hundredes of people who have been detained by Iranian authorities, including Canadian Iranian journalist Maziar Bahari.

CNN yesterday: Amnesty International's Hassiba Hadj-Sahraoui responds to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's claim that the killing of Neda Agha-Soltan would be investigated.

Brussels bulletin

2009-07-02T14:05:00.003+01:00

Swedish EU Presidency Faces Perfect Storm

Socialists split over name change and Barroso

French socialists have questioned the European Socialist parliamentary group’s name change and its ability to share the Parliament’s chair with the centre-right European People’s Party ahead of the EP's opening plenary session on 14-16 July.

The Socialist group recently decided to incorporate 21 members from the Italian Democratic Party and consequently changed its name to the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in Europe (PASDE).

And then there's the matter of Barroso:

Behind negotiations for the Parliament’s chair lies the thornier issue of whether to back the re-appointment of José Manuel Barroso for a second term as president of the European Commission.

Martin Schulz, the German Socialist MEP who was recently re-elected party leader in the European Parliament, said he would consider sharing the presidency of the assembly if that gave him leverage over the next Commission’s political agenda. In return for co-chairing the Parliament, Schulz therefore appears to be ready to secure his group’s backing for a second Barroso term.

French socialists seem more inclined to firmly place their group in the opposition camp and vote down the former Portuguese prime minister, even if this means losing the Parliament’s co-presidency as a result.

The European Parliament will not hold a vote on José Manuel Barroso's re-appointment as Commission president at its July plenary, after the liberals and socialists agreed yesterday to wait until the second Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty this autumn.

New eurosceptic group

A new far-right Eurosceptic group was formed in the European parliament yesterday (1 July), vowing to provide a "much-needed voice of opposition" and play an active role in the 'No' campaign ahead of the second Irish Lisbon Treaty referendum. [EurActiv]

The Europe of Freedom and Democracy (EFD) group stems from the Independence/Democracy group, which was founded after the 2004 European elections.

The new parliamentary formation is made up of 30 MEPs from 8 national political parties, most prominently the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) with 13 MEPs and Italy's Lega Nord with 9 MEPs.

Iran says Europe no longer qualified to conduct nuclear talks

Iran claims the EU is no longer qualified to hold nuclear talks due to its alleged meddling with the post-election protests in the country. Sweden, as the new EU presidency, is calling up officials from the 27-member bloc to discuss the next diplomatic move.

Kings and Princes

2009-07-02T12:08:00.014+01:00

Seeing that it's the 40th anniversary of a certain bit of pomp and circumstance that took place in Caernarfon, I thought I'd do a piece on the history of Wales and the Royals.

Llywelyn ap Iorwerth (Llywelyn the Great) styled himself as "Prince of North Wales", but before that time Welsh rulers were kings, not princes. Wales was divided into smaller kingdoms, most notably Gwynedd, Powys and Deheubarth (but also Glamorgan and Gwent), and only on three occasions did a king of one of these kingdoms become overlord of most of the rest of Wales (Rhodri the Great, Hywel the Good and Maredudd ab Owain). I say "most" because only one native Welsh king ever managed to become ruler of all of Wales (albeit for only 7 years), namely Gruffudd ap Llywelyn, who died in 1063. Together with Llywelyn the Great we have a total of five native kings and princes who can be described as rulers of Wales prior to the creation of the Principality:

Rhodri the Great (c. 820–878); Rhodri inherited the Kingdom of Gwynedd on his father's death in 844 and the Kingdom of Powys on his maternal uncle Cyngen's death in 855. In 872 Gwgon, ruler of Seisyllwg in southern Wales, was accidentally drowned, and Rhodri added this Kingdom to his domains by virtue of his marriage to Angharad, Gwgon's sister. Rhodri won fame across Europe for a notable victory over the Danes in 856.

Hywel the Good (c. 880–950); a grandson of Rhodri the Great, Hywel and his father Cadell - who had inherited the Kingdom of Seisyllwg from Rhodri - conquered Dyfed (modern day Pembrokeshire) in 904/905, establishing Hywel as the king in that region. Following his father's death in 909, he acquired a share of Seisyllwg, and on his brother's death in 920, he merged Dyfed and Seisyllwg, creating for himself a new kingdom, which became known as Deheubarth. Following the death of his cousin Idwal Foel in 942, he also seized the Kingdom of Gwynedd. Hywel is famed for having presided over the codification of Welsh law, known still as Hywel's Law.

Maredudd ab Owain (died 999) was a grandson of Hywel the Good. His father, Owain ap Hywel Dda, was king of Deheubarth. As Owain grew too old to lead in battle his son Maredudd took his place, and in 986 captured Gwynedd from Cadwallon ab Ieuaf. On Owain's death in 988 Maredudd also became ruler of Deheubarth. He may have controlled all Wales apart from Gwent and Morgannwg (Glamorgan).

Gruffudd ap Llywelyn (c. 1007 – August 5, 1063). In 1039 the King of Gwynedd, Iago ab Idwal, was killed by his own men (his son Cynan ap Iago, who may have been as young as four, was taken into exile in Dublin) and Gruffudd, already the usurper-king of Powys, was able to become king of Gwynedd. Soon after gaining power he surprised a Mercian army at Rhyd y Groes near Welshpool and totally defeated it, killing its leader, Edwin, the brother of Leofric, Earl of Mercia. He then attacked the neighbouring principality of Deheubarth which was now ruled by Hywel ab Edwin. Gruffudd defeated Hywel in a battle at Pencader in 1041 and carried off Hywel's wife. Gruffudd seems to have been able to drive Hywel out of Deheubarth in about 1043, for in 1044 Hywel is recorded as returning with a Danish fleet to the mouth of the River Tywi to try to reclaim his kingdom. Gruffudd however defeated and killed him in a close fought fight.

Gruffudd ap Rhydderch of Gwent was able to expel Gruffudd ap Llywelyn from Deheubarth in 1047 and became king of Deheubarth himself after the nobles of Ystrad Tywi had attacked and killed 140 of Gruffudd ap Llywelyn's household guard. He was able to resist several attacks by Gruffudd ap Llywelyn in the following years. Gruffudd ap Llywelyn was active on the Welsh border in 1052, when he attacked Herefordshire and defeated a mixed force of Normans and English near Leominster.

In 1055 Gruffudd ap Llywelyn killed his rival Gruffudd ap Rhydderch in battle and recaptured Deheubarth. Gruffudd now allied himself with Ælfgār, son of Earl Leofric of Mercia, who had been deprived of his earldom of East Anglia by Harold Godwinson and his brothers. They marched on Hereford and were opposed by a force led by the Earl of Hereford, Ralph the Timid. This force was mounted and armed in the Norman fashion, but on October 24 Gruffudd defeated it. He then sacked the city and destroyed its Norman castle. Earl Harold was given the task of counter attacking, and seems to have built a fortification at Longtown in Herefordshire before refortifying Hereford. Shortly afterwards Ælfgār was restored to his earldom and a peace treaty concluded.

Around this time Gruffudd was also able to seize Morgannwg (Glamorgan) and Gwent, along with extensive territories along the border with England. In 1056, he won another victory over an English army near Glasbury. Now a true King of Wales, he claimed sovereignty over the whole of Wales - a claim which was recognised by the English. Historian John Davies states that Gruffudd was "the only Welsh king ever to rule over the entire territory of Wales... Thus, from about 1057 until his death in 1063, the whole of Wales recognised the kingship of Gruffudd ap Llywelyn. For about seven brief years, Wales was one, under one ruler, a feat with neither precedent nor successor."

Llywelyn the Great (c. 1173 – April 11, 1240) was the son of Iorwerth ab Owain and the grandson of Owain Gwynedd, who had been ruler of Gwynedd until his death in 1170. Llywelyn was a descendant of the senior line of Rhodri the Great. Despite this lineage Llywelyn did not come to power via the inheritance of territory, but by the sword. There are many twists and turns (and ups and downs) in the tale of his rise (and fall and rise again) to power, but the main feature of the storyline is that he came to be overlord of most of Wales, partly by the sword and partly by diplomacy.

PRINCES OF WALES

1. Llywelyn ap Gruffudd (c. 1223 – 11 December 1282), grandson of Llywelyn the Great, gained overlordship over most of Wales and styled himself as Prince of Wales as early as 1258. He was officially recognised as such by King Henry III of England in 1267; and thus the Principality of Wales was born.

Llywelyn was killed in a skirmish in 1282. Since then the title of Prince of Wales has gone to the heir to the throne of England (which is why Llywelyn is known as 'Llywelyn the Last'), though there were a couple of Owains to rock the boat on the way.

2. Edward of Caernarvon (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327?); the son of Edward I, he became Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester on February 7th, 1301 (so no, not when he was a toddler). He ascended to the throne as Edward II on the 8th of June, 1307.

3. Edward of Woodstock, known as The Black Prince (15 June 1330 – 8 June 1376); he was the son of Edward II. He became Earl of Chester in March 1333; Duke of Cornwall in March 1337; and Prince of Wales on May 12th 1343. He died from a long wasting disease in 1376. It is from him that we have the Three Feathers

Owain Lawgoch (English: "Owain of the Red Hand", French: "Yvain de Galles"), full name Owain ap Thomas ap Rhodri (c. 1330 - July 1378), was the first of two Owains to make a nuisance of himself as far as the English Princes of Wales are concerned. Owain was a Welsh soldier who served in Spain, France, Alsace and Switzerland. He led a free company fighting for the French against the English in the Hundred Years' War. As the last politically active descendant of Llywelyn the Great in the male line, he was a claimant to the title of Prince of Gwynedd and of Wales.

In May 1372 in Paris, Owain announced that he intended to claim the throne of Wales. He set sail from Harfleur with money borrowed from Charles V. Owain first attacked the island of Guernsey, and was still there when a message arrived from Charles ordering him to abandon the expedition in order to go to Castile to seek ships to attack La Rochelle. Owain defeated an English and Gascon force at Soubise later that year, capturing Sir Thomas Percy and Jean de Grailly, the Captal de Buch. Another invasion of Wales was planned in 1373 but had to be abandoned when John of Gaunt launched an offensive.

In 1377 there were reports that Owain was planning another expedition, this time with help from Castile. The alarmed English government sent a spy, the Scot Jon Lamb, to assassinate Owain, who had been given the task of besieging Mortagne sur Mer in Poitou. Lamb gained Owain's confidence and became his chamberlain, which gave him the opportunity to stab Owain to death in July, 1378.

4. Richard Plantagenet (6 January 1367 – c. 14 February 1400); the son of the Black Prince, he became Prince of Wales, Earl of Chester and Duke of Cornwall in 1376 following the death of his father. He ascended to the throne of England in 1377 as Richard II.

5. Henry of Monmouth (16 September 1386 – 31 August 1422) was the son of Henry Bolingbroke, later Henry IV. In the same year as his father's ascension to the throne (1399) Henry became Prince of Wales, Earl of Chester and Duke of Cornwall. His tenure as Prince of Wales was somewhat stunted 11 months later on his 14th birthday when a certain Owain Glyndŵr was proclaimed Prince of Wales.

Henry ascended to the throne of England as Henry V in March 1413.

Owain Glyndŵr (c. 1354 or 1359 – c. 1416). In the late 1390s, a series of events occurred that began to push Owain - a member of the Anglo-Welsh gentry of the Welsh Marches - towards rebellion, in what was later to be called the Welsh Revolt, the Glyndŵr Rising or the Last War of Independence. His neighbour, Baron Grey de Ruthyn, had seized control of some land, for which, in 1399, Glyndwr appealed to the English Parliament. In 1400 Lord Grey informed Glyndwr too late of a Royal command to levy feudal troops for Scottish border service, thus being able to call the Welshman a traitor in London Court circles. Lord Grey was a personal crony of the recently usurping King Henry IV. Glyndwr lost the legal case, and was under personal threat. The deposed king, Richard II, had support in Wales, and in January 1400 serious civil disorder broke out in the English border city of Chester, after the public execution of an officer of the deposed king.

These events led to Owain being proclaimed Prince of Wales on September 16, 1400, by a small band of followers which included his eldest son, his brothers-in-law, and the Dean of St. Asaph. The 'Welsh Revolt' lasted until 1415, but Owain's rule as the rebel Prince of Wales only lasted 5 or 6 years, after which his fortunes foundered.

6. Edward of Westminster also known as Edward of Lancaster (13 October 1453 – 4 May 1471), was the only son of King Henry VI of England and Margaret of Anjou. He was killed at the Battle of Tewkesbury in 1471, making him the only Prince of Wales ever to die in battle (Llywelyn ap Gruffudd died in a skirmish). He was made Duke of Cornwall at birth, and five months later Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester.

7. Edward of York (2 November 1470 – 29 July 1483?) was the son of Edward IV. He was made Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester in June 1471 (six weeks after the death of Edward of Westminster), and Duke of Cornwall in July of the same year. He ascended to the throne as Edward V in 1483. Along with his younger brother, Richard Duke of York, he was placed under the care of his uncle (Richard Duke of Gloucester), who promptly took the throne for himself and had his nephews illegitimized and sent to the Tower of London, never to be seen again.

8. Edward of Middleham also known as Edward Plantagenet (c. 1473 – 9 April 1484), was the only son of King Richard III and his wife Anne Neville. He became Duke of Cornwall in June 1483 and Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester the following August. He died suddenly in 1484.

9. Arthur Tudor (19/20 September 1486 – 2 April 1502) was the first son of King Henry VII of England and Elizabeth of York. He was made Duke of Cornwall at birth and Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester in November 1489. He died suddenly at the age of fifteen.

10. Henry Tudor (28 June 1491 – 28 January 1547) became Duke of Cornwall on the death of his brother Arthur in April 1502. In February 1504 he was made Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester. In April 1509 he ascended to the throne as Henry VIII.

11. Henry Frederick (19 February 1594 – 6 November 1612) was the eldest son of King James I of England & VI of Scotland and Anne of Denmark. His name comes from grandfathers Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley and Frederick II of Denmark. He became Duke of Cornwall on the ascension of his father to the English throne in 1603 and was made Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester in June 1610. He died of typhoid fever in 1612.

12. Charles Stuart (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) became Duke of Cornwall on the death of his brother in 1612, and was made Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester in November 1616. He ascended to the throne as Charles I in March 1625.

13. George Augustus (10 November 1683 – 25 October 1760) was the son of George I and was born at Herrenhausen Palace, Hanover (Germany). He was made Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester in September 1714, and ascended to the throne of Great Britain as George II in June 1727.

14. Frederick Louis (1 February 1707 – 31 March 1751) was the eldest son of George II. He became Duke of Cornwall in 1727 and was made Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester in January 1729. He died of a burst abscess in the lung in 1751.

15. George William Frederick (4 June 1738 – 29 January 1820) was the son of Frederick, Prince of Wales. He became Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester in April 1751 following the death of his father. He ascended to the throne as George III in October 1760.

16. George Augustus Frederick (12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was the son of George III and was known as The Prince Regent following the Regency Act 1811. He became Duke of Cornwall at birth and was made Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester in August 1762. He ascended to the throne as George IV in January 1820.

17. Albert Edward (November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was the son of Queen Victoria. He became Duke of Cornwall at birth and was made Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester in December 1841. He ascended to the throne as Edward VII in January 1901.

18. George Frederick (3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was the second son of Edward VII. He was made Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester in November 1901. He ascended to the throne as George V in May 1910.

19. Edward Windsor (23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972) was the eldest son of George V. He became Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester in June 1910 and ascended to the throne as Edward VIII in January 1936. Following his abdication in December of that same year he became known as the Duke of Windsor.

20. Charles Windsor (born 14 November 1948) is the eldest son of Elizabeth II. He became Duke of Cornwall on the ascent of his mother to the throne in 1952, and was made Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester on the 26th of July 1958.

Carlo and the constitution

2009-07-01T07:59:00.007+01:00

The Llywydd gets to the crux of the matter concerning the role of the Prince of Wales, and manages to put a lightweight Lembit in his place to boot in what was largely a superficial 'debate'on the matter. Indeed, the BBC programme A Prince for Wales? could just as well have been titled The Dummy's Guide to the Prince of Wales.

A poll by Beaufort commissioned for the programme claims that as many as 58% of people in Wales support the continuation of the office, a claim that in my experience defies belief. But then Beaufort are not exactly famed for their reliability as pollsters.

Have Tory - Will Travel

2009-07-01T07:27:00.011+01:00

Become a Tory AM and see the world

for FREE!!

ID RIP

2009-07-01T05:59:00.002+01:00

It looks like the proposed ID card scheme is dead in the water. Not so much because of the UK government's climbdown yesterday on making ID cards compulsory for pilots and airside workers at Manchester and London City airports, but because the Labour Party are unlikely to be in government long enough to implement it.

Foreign nationals living and working in the UK will be the only group of people who will have the cards, with 50,000 already having been issued. People over 75 will be able to get them for free early next year, but I doubt very much that there'll be a mad rush for the cards among pensioners in light of the strong likelihood that only a few months later the scheme will be binned by a Conservative administration.

Tehran today

2009-06-30T20:55:00.001+01:00

Riot police in the alley ways of Tehran destroy property, presumably hoping to lay the blame on anti-government protesters.

Didn't we have a lovely time the day we went to...Brussels

2009-06-30T06:28:00.004+01:00

There's something quire bizarre about the Welsh Conservative Assembly group spending thousands of pounds of public money and staying in expensive hotels on a "fact finding" trip to Brussels.

What "facts" did they hope to find there?

The fact that the Conservative Party has decided to wander in the wilderness on an EU level, abandoning its significant position within an alliance with the EPP in favour of forming a marginal group with a bunch of nutters?

The fact that their arguments in favour of unionism suddenly don't apply when it comes to the European Union?

Or was it the fact that Brussels waffles are prepared with a yeast leavened batter?