At The Mercy of King Edward I
A few months after Gwenllian's birth, north Wales was encircled by the English army of King Edward I. On 11 December 1282 her father, Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, was lured into Builth Castle, ostensibly to sign a treaty, but he was captured there and put to death. Gwenllian's uncle, Dafydd ap Gruffudd, assumed her guardianship, but on 21 June 1283 he was captured with his family at Nanhysglain, a secret hiding place in a bog by Bera Mawr in the uplands of North Wales. Dafydd, severely injured, was taken to Rhuddlan, then moved under guard to Shrewsbury, where he was later executed.
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