Flags of the Kingdom of Wales (Welsh History Post Glyndwr)

The Welsh Kingdom has various flags, banner's and badges representing different era's, organisations and bodies.

The National Flags


This is the national Flag of Wales used by the Kingdom of Wales since 1400. Originally flown as the War Banner of Owain Glyndwr during the War of Welsh Independence it became the banner used by Owain during his time as Prince and later by his son, Maredudd, first king of Wales to indicate the Kings presence. In the first raft of laws passed following the 1796 restoration of Welsh independence the flag was recognized as Wales' national flag.

The alternative Welsh flag has also been used by the Welsh state since independence in 1409. Used initially by the Senedd its use spread to the Welsh Navy when it was adopted as the Naval Jack. It was then used by the English as their "Welsh Flag" following the Treaty of Manchester and the union of the English & Welsh kingdoms. Used for the period of the English occupation (1718-96) the flag featured both on its own and as part of a British Union Flag. Following the Welsh Restoration, the flag fell from popular usage, but with the African adventure and the taking of Portuguese Guinea for Wales, the colonists needed a flag. The only one available were the ships naval jacks. Defacing one of them with the Portuguese arms for Guinea, the first Welsh colonial ensign was born. Its usage then spread across the Atlantic to Y Wladfa and it was then recognised as the Colonial Ensign for the Welsh Empire.



The Royal & National Coat of Arms of Wales
Again, derived from the 1st War of Welsh Independence, when Owain Glyndwr first raised his banners in defiance of the English Crown he did so under the combined Lions of the Houses he was heir to. As scion of the House of Mathrafal and a descendant of the House of Dinefwr he combined the lions onto a counter-charged Red and Gold field.

House of Glyndwr (Used 1400-1599)
At the end of the War of Independence this was chosen as Owain's coat of arms as Prince of Wales and was adopted by Maredudd as the coat of arms as the King of Wales.

House of Deheubarth (Used 1600-1750)
Following the fall of the House of Powys-Fadog-Glyndwr in 1600 there was a change in the coat of arms of the Royal House to those of the House of Deheubarth. With this change the Royal and the National arms of Wales changed. The royal dynasty was represented by the arms of Deheubarth, whilst the arms of the King himself were the arms of the House of Glyndwr defaced by the crowned arms of Deheubarth.



The Regency Council (Arms used 1750-1755)
During the Regency period (1750-1755), the National Arms were those of the House of Glyndwr defaced by a single white diagonal stripe from bottom left to top right



The House of Morgannwg (Pre-Restoration - 1755-1796)
During the 2nd war of independence against the Anglo-Scottish state Rhisiart used the Arms of Morgannwg to represent the position of King. This remained in place until the Treaty of Shrewsbury in 1796 which restored the Kingdom of Wales.

King Arthur I of Wales then reverted to the traditional arms of the House of Glyndwr for the position of the King of Wales, whilst retaining the Arms of Morgannwg to represent himself in his position as Prince of Morgannwg. This was ratified at the same time as the National Flag and has remained so since then. The Communist Governments of the late 20th Century attempted to change the official Coat of Arms, but were met with enough resistance that they ceased in their attempts to replace it with the White Eagle emblem. There are currently two versions of the arms. One is the National Arms and is the arms of the House of Glyndwr unaltered. The other version is the Royal Arms of Wales which consist of the Arms of Glyndwr defaced by the Arms of Morgannwg crowned.



Other Arms of Wales
During the reign of Dafydd V, the Royal Arms were altered by Dafydd to fit his claim to the British throne. For this he removed the crowned crest and added the British arms to the 4th quarter of the arms.

The other arms are the "Union" arms of 1720-1796 whereby Wales was represented in the British Royal Arms