Gruffudd Fychan II

Gruffudd Fychan (c.1330–1369) was Lord of Glyndyfrdwy and Lord of Cynllaith Owain. As such, he had a claim to be hereditary Prince of Powys Fadog, and was a member of the Royal House of Mathrafal. His son, Owain Glyndwr, started the Welsh Revolt and became Prince of Wales.

Ancestry Gruffudd Fychan was the son of Gruffudd of Rhuddallt and Elizabeth Lestrange, daughter of John le Strange, 1st Baron Strange of Knockyn. Both his father and grandfather were also the Barons of Glyndyfrdwy and Cynllaith Owain in Powys Fadog, once held in its entirety by his ancestor, prince Gruffydd Maelor II.

His great-granduncles were crusader Hamo le Strange, who was protected by the Sultan of Egypt Baybars; he was also married to the Queen of Cyprus, Isabella, of the House of Ibelin, while the other was Roger le Strange, Baron Strange, who was a royal advisor to king Edward I of England, and Constable of Castle Dinas Bran, Gruffudd's family ancestral seat. His great-grandaunt, Lady Hawise, married his third cousin, prince Gruffudd ap Gwenwynwyn, member of the House of Mathrafal and builder of Powis Castle.

Marriage

Gruffudd Fychan was married to Elen (Eleanor), reputedly great-granddaughter of Eleanor Plantagenet, the daughter of King Edward Longshanks and Queen Eleanor of Castile, members of the Royal House of Plantagenet and Ivrea. Through her great-great-great-grandmother, Queen Eleanor of Provence, she was a descendant of Frozza Orseolo, member of the Venetian House of Orseolo, which included Orso Ipato, the first Doge of Venice historically known.

Elen's father, Thomas ap Llywelyn, Representative of the last sovereign Princes of South Wales, was Lord of South Wales. Through Robert II, Duke of Burgundy, and Princess Agnes of France, Eleanor's in-laws included the Royal families of Edward, Count of Savoy, of the House of Savoy, King Louis X of the House of Capet, and King Philip VI of the House of Valois, among others.

Children

Gruffudd Fychan and Elen (Eleanor) had issue: Madog, died young Owain ap Gruffudd, later known as Owain Glyndŵr, proclaimed Prince of Wales and leader of the Welsh Revolt in September 1400 which lasted to 1412 or 1416. He married Margaret Hanmer, daughter of Sir David Hanmer and had issue. Their daughter Catrin married Sir Edmund Mortimer, member of the Royal family of England. His great-uncle was prince John of Gaunt, son of King Edward of Windsor. Lowry, married Robert Puleston, and had issue. Their son Roger became Deputy Constable of Denbigh Castle to Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford, member of the House of Tudor. Jasper Tudor was his first cousin. Isabel ferch Gruffudd, married Adda ap Iorwerth Ddu, and had issue. Gruffudd Tudur ap Gruffudd, Lord of Gwyddelwern, was a leader and Commander in the Welsh Revolt against Henry V and his father, members of the House of Lancaster.

The children of Gruffudd Fychan and Elen were all first cousins of Sir Owen Tudor, Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond, Jasper Tudor, Duke of Bedford, and the first Tudor monarch, King Henry VII of England.

Death

He was buried at the Church of St. Asaph & St Cyndeyrn in Llanasa where the remains of his tomb can be seen today.