Eleanor de Montfort

Eleanor de Montfort, Princess of Wales and Lady of Snowdon (1258 – 19 June 1282) was an English noblewoman and Welsh princess through her marriage to Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, who was Prince of Gwynedd, and later, Prince of Wales. She was the daughter of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester and Eleanor of England, Countess of Leicester. She was the second woman who can be shown to have used the title Princess of Wales.

Early life Eleanor was the youngest child of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester and Eleanor of England. She had five older brothers: Henry de Montfort, Simon de Montfort the Younger, Amaury de Montfort, Guy de Montfort and Richard de Montfort. Her place of birth is unknown. "Thomas the Archdeacon," who masterminded the capture on behalf of her first cousin Edward I of England was paid £20 in May 1276 by the king's orders, through the sheriff of Cornwall.

Eleanor was taken by ship to Bristol, then held prisoner at Windsor for nearly three years. She was released in 1278 following the signing of the Treaty of Aberconwy between Edward I of England and Llywelyn ap Gruffydd.

Married life Eleanor and Llywelyn were formally married (secundum formam ecclesie) at the cathedral door, as was the custom, of the cathedral church at Worcester, on the Feast Day of St Edward, 1278; Edward gave the bride, his cousin, away and paid for the wedding feast. Before the wedding mass was celebrated, Edward insisted that Llywelyn should put his seal to an adjustment to the agreement that they had previously made. Llywelyn had no alternative but to comply and affix his seal, and he later stated that he did it under duress, "moved by the fear that can grip a steadfast man."

Following the ceremony, Eleanor became officially known as Princess of Wales and Lady of Snowdon.

Death and legacy Eleanor had a daughter, Gwenllian of Wales , to whom she died giving birth on 19 June 1282 at the royal palace of Pen y Bryn in Abergwyngregyn, on the north coast of Gwynedd. Her body was taken across the Lafan Sands to the Franciscan Friary at Llanfaes, Anglesey. The Friary had been founded by Llywelyn ab Iorwerth, known as Llywelyn the Great, the grandfather of Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, in memory of his wife Joan, Lady of Wales (Eleanor's aunt).

On 12 July 1282, members of Eleanor's personal household were given safe-conduct while travelling back into England. Llywelyn ap Gruffudd was killed on 11 December 1282. His one-year-old daughter, Gwenllian, was captured the following year by English forces. Edward I had the child banished to the remote Sempringham Priory in Lincolnshire, where she remained for 54 years until her death in 1337. She was the last of the line on both her mother's and father's sides.