Dafydd IV of Wales (Welsh History Post Glyndwr)

Dafydd was only 12 years old when he claimed the throne of Wales. The son of Prince Rhys, the first Duke of Deheubarth, Dafydd inheirited the title of Duke of Dyfed from his father (after his fathers title was reduced from the full territory of Deheubarth to the rump of Dyfed). Born on the 1st February 1588 in Cardigan Castle to the Prince and his wife, Margaret Howard (who would live to enjoy the trappings of being the Kings Mother) he ushered in a new dynasty, the House of Dyfed (sometimes called the House of Deheubarth) although he was a direct grandson of Queen Elen. Dafydd preferred to underscore his differences with his uncle, King Marc, by making his first official act that of re-writing the dynastic name for himself and his heirs.

Dafydd, Brenin Gymraeg
With some indecent haste, Dafydd had the Archbishop of St Davids crown him King of Wales on the 1st March 1600, the coronation was recorded as a shabby affair, "with blood still on the sheaths". Wales, whilst now possessing a new King, was badly dis-united, religious turmoil still causing havoc especially in Powys and the regions closest to England. The fading Elizabethian regieme in England did not at first recognise the young king, and dealt instead with the Prince of Glamorgan and the Lord Archbishop of St Davids, who had organised a Regency Council for the underage monarch. The headstrong new monarch however would not long suffer this block to his rule. The Council ruled for a year and a day, with the king disbanding it on the 1st March, 1601 (though he retained both men in his Privy Council). The same day Dafydd also revoked the acts of parliament passed during his uncles brief reign, including the religious tolerance act. Henceforth, Protestants were barred from public office, and the nobility could have their ranks, titles and lands removed should they convert. This went down well within the Kings heartlands (Glamorgan, Deheubarth, St Davids and other lands loyal to him through the Uprising), it went down less well in the March, Henffordd, and Powys, all areas which had seen greater numbers of converts to the two main Protestant faiths (Lutherism and Calvinism).

The next four years were spent quietly supressing all attempts to defy his power. The Kings Household Guard and the Royal Fortress Guard were used to expand the kings authority, castles and keeps were garrisoned, whilst loyal lords were publicly and richly rewarded. In 1605 the King returned to the full glare of the public eye with his marriage to the Protestant Princess of England, Margaret, daughter to King James VI of Scotland & I of England. The marriage formed part of a new Treaty with the new Anglo-Scotish state, and Margaret had to convert to Roman Catholicism for the marriage to proceed. With a Queen (who was only 6 years old at the time of her marriage), a loyal Privy Council and the garisons better armed and manned than for almost two generations, the 17 year old king, already five years into his reign settles into court life, again centering the court on Caernarfon (after almost two and a half reigns of Royal neglect).

The next ten years are spent re-centralising Royal power, creating a circle of nobles in the Royal Court that alternate the greater offices of State. Dafydd is determined to restore the power of the monarch. Influenced by European ideas about the Divine Rights of Kings he called Parliaments, but constantly seeks way to minimise their powers. In 1607, the Prince of Powys (Alecsander) leads a quiet attempt by the nobility to limit the kings power, but Dafydd sucessfully side-steps the issue. 1607 is also the year that Dafydd concluded a treaty with the Holy Roman Emperor, Rudolf II. The treaty mainly concerned trade and the Welsh ports of Caerodor, Milford Haven, Pembroke and Caernarfon all grew from increased trade with the Holy Roman Empire. During this early period, Caerdydd also started to grow in power as iron works began to grow in the area.

Middle Reign
The years 1615 to 1630 are seen as the middle years of Dafydd's reign and see both the growth of Welsh trade and the security of multiple heirs to the Welsh throne being born. Dafydd's child bride, Margaret of Scotland came of age in 1614 (turning 16 in that year) The following year, (1615) the couple re-newed their marriage allowing Dafydd to consumate his marriage with his wife (though by this time Dafydd already had at least two illegitimate children) The young Queen thrived in Court. Extravagent balls were held in her honour and in the Royal Progress' through the Kingdom she was always more favourably received than her husband. By the 1620's however, Dafydd had begun to be concerned about his legacy. Whilst Wales had settled, religious life returning to Catholic normality and trade bringing increased properity to the Kingdon, he wanted more to leave behind him. In 1620 he started a building programme at both Harlech, Garth Celyn and Caernarfon, and by 1625, the year that his eldest son, Hywel, was born he decided to re-codify Welsh law. This led to the "Long Session", a nine year Parliament, the most extensive parliament since the reign of Owain V. Running from 1625 to 1634, this Parliament looked into almost all areas of Welsh law, updating, re-coding and modernising the Statute books. At the end of this period the Welsh Parliament was much stronger, than it had been for generations, a legacy that would be thrown away by his grandson later on in the century. Dafydd however also laid the foundations for this later ruin, with his belief in the Divine Rights of Kings and his use of the Privy Council to circumvent Parliament when he felt the need.

Later Reign 1630-40
The last decade of Dafydd's reign was a fitting end to a long and peaceful one. Dafydd was the first king in a long time to look seriously at the state of the Welsh Navy and appointed Prince Maredudd ap Dafydd Powys-Fadog (1613-1682) as the first Prince-Admiral of the Welsh Fleet. The Long Session would also come to a close during this period, with the final Parliament of 1634 presenting the Great Act (Gweithredu Fawr) of 1634 for Royal authorisation. The heir, Hywel, Edling Cymraeg was brought to court and was introduced as "Crown Prince and Heir to my titles, lands and possessions" by Dafydd in the summer progress of 1636 marking Hywel's formal entry into Court life, but his father was already slowing down. The last four years of his reign were moribund in terms of action from the centre. The system did not fall apart as it had in earlier reigns such was the presence of loyal lords such as the Earls of Anglesey, Henffordd and the Duke of Gwent. The strong Chancellorship of Bishop Elphin Preece (1635-43) also maintained the strong central power of the throne that Dafydd had painstakingly recreated around the person of the King.

Such was his authority even in his bed ridden final year that with his death on the 4th October 1640 in the now Palace of Harlech the 15 year old Edling, Hywel faced no disent with his accession. No attempt at a Regency Council, the old king passes away in his sleep and the new king, who is fighting in Europe is unmolested in his position as king, even though it takes another two years in which for him to return and formally recieve his crown.