Evan Vaughan Anwyl

Evan Vaughan Anwyl (born 9 December 1943) is the current head of the Anwyl of Tywyn Family whose proven male line ancestors extend back to William Lewis Anwyl. He resides in Tywyn, Gwynedd (formerly Merioneth: ), in north Wales, and speaks Welsh.
History
William Lewis Anwyl proved his direct male line ancestry back to Owain Gwynedd in 1611 (via Rhodri ab Owain Gwynedd) and this pedigree was certified and recorded by Lewis Dwnn in Heraldic Visitations of Wales and part of the Marches. This book was completed in 1613 but published in 1846 by Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick and is considered a key resource in Welsh genealogical research.
According to the laws of succession relevant to the Welsh Kingdoms of the medieval Welsh realms, the Anwyl of Tywyn Family are the male heirs of the ancient House of Aberffraw which were the native royal dynasty in the Kingdom of Gwynedd and the principal royal dynasty in Wales since the time of Rhodri Mawr. Owain Lawgoch claimed to be Prince of Wales by right of his descent as last male member of the 'house of Gwynedd'. Owain Lawgoch was then murdered on the orders of the English Crown in 1378. No Welshman has claimed the title "Prince of Wales" since Owain Glyndwr did in 1400 (His revolt eventually failed).
The current head of the family, Evan Vaughan Anwyl, was educated at Tywyn Grammar School<ref nameBurkes/> and then the University of Wales Aberystwyth<ref nameBurkes/> where he was awarded a BSc in 1967 and DipEd in 1968. He resides at Ty Mawr, Tywyn, Gwynedd, Wales. His son David Evan Anwyl (born 1977) will succeed him to become the putative holder of the titles Prince of Aberffraw and Lord of Snowdon on the death of his father, presumably as Dafydd V. The family does not make any public claim to these title which were officially abolished by the Statute of Rhuddlan of 1284.
Given that the last native princes of Wales rejected English sovereignty (a controversial position leading ultimately to their deposition and deaths) and that their honoured position as Tywysog of Gwynedd was one which they held in their own right (as asserted in the Garth Celyn Letters written by Llywelyn ap Gruffudd in 1282), the legality of such claims to those ancient titles if made by this family in the future would be a matter of debate. Llywelyn ap Gruffydd was the only Welsh ruler to be legally acknowledged as Prince of Wales, thanks to Henry III and Ottobuono de' Fieschi (the future Pope Adrian V), by the Treaty of Montgomery, 1267.
Footnotes
 
< Prev   Next >