However, in 1400, a Welsh noble named Owain Glyndwr rose up against the English king of the time, Henry IV. Wales escaped from his brother's London house for home, where he joined up with the rebels. However, the Welsh rebellion was crushed, and although Glyndwr was never captured, Wales was. He was actually hanged, in fact, but as a nation he was unable to stay dead and so he ended up back in England's house. He was left with essentially nothing to do during this time.
In 1485, however, Henry Tudor, the last member of England's Lancastrian royal line, challenged Yorkist King Richard III for the throne. Tudor was of Welsh descent; the Tudors may even have had the blood of long-dead Welsh princes in their veins. Again Wales escaped from his brother's house to fight for Henry, thinking that if he had to be under England's rule, then at least their shared King would have Welsh blood. This eventually backfired for him, not under the rule of the victorious Henry, but under his son, Henry VIII. It was under Henry VIII's reign that the Act of Union was signed, officially merging England and Wales. With this merger, which also included the ban of the Welsh language and any differentiation legally, Wales fully expected to fade away like many of the Ancient nations had already done. To his surprise, and thanks to his people's stubbornness in hanging onto their culture and language even in secret, he survived just fine. However, he lost his ability to do magic, though not to see magical creatures.
Wales had quite a few interactions with the Tudors. Henry VII let him live at Ludlow Castle in the Welsh Marches with his eldest son, Arthur, Prince of Wales. Wales knew Arthur rather well, having watched the boy grow up. He was also one of the few who realized how very much in love the Prince was with his young wife, Princess Katherine of Aragon. Later, he would be there when Henry VIII's eldest daughter, the then-Princess Mary, came to Ludlow. He was charmed by the young girl, and was personally very much on her and her mother's side in Henry's Great Matter.
After the merger, he returned to his brother's house, but was often still at court. He met Mary – now merely Lady Mary – again and found himself developing an affection for her of a different sort. He never let it get beyond courtly love, however, and Mary never thought he was anything but a friend. He was not in love with Elizabeth, though he liked her and was rather happy to discover that she spoke at least some Welsh.
After the end of the Tudors and the rise of the Scottish Stuart kings, Wales retreated into near-total anonymity. The effects of this are still obvious today, in that while nations recognize him as one of their own, they're not entirely sure just who he is, precisely. In most of the wars Britain got itself involved in, Wales would play the human soldier. One exception was the War of Austrian Succession – he was his brother's official backup in that war for the brief time they were involved. He met Austria and the two of them became friendly over shared interests – well, really, over music – but when England pulled out of the war there was no further contact. Wales didn't have too much interaction with the colonies England collected – he would play his flute or tell stories for the young ones on occasion but that was all, though he did bond a bit with Canada over being overlooked.
In the world wars of the 20th century, Wales returned to his playing human system of being a fighter, particularly in World War I. He proved to be very good at stealth missions, mostly because he wasn't easily recognized. In World War II, he was part of a unit of British intelligence that used Welsh to help develop codes. After the war, during occupation, he was stationed in Vienna to keep an eye on Austria. They hit it off again, but once occupation there ended in 1955, the friendship once again lapsed.
During the later part of the 20th century, Welsh affairs were more and more becoming handled separately from English affairs, culminating in a 1997 referendum that allowed for the creation of a National Assembly for Wales, as the new devolved government was called. For Wales, this is the closest to independence he's been since the Middle Ages, and the first time he's been a separate if not sovereign entity since 1536. Some of his magic returned to him when he got his devolved government, and he now lives in a flat in downtown Cardiff rather than in London at his brother's house.
Re: [FANDOM OC] Wales/Bran Llywelyn || Axis Powers Hetalia || no reserve || 4 of ?
In 1485, however, Henry Tudor, the last member of England's Lancastrian royal line, challenged Yorkist King Richard III for the throne. Tudor was of Welsh descent; the Tudors may even have had the blood of long-dead Welsh princes in their veins. Again Wales escaped from his brother's house to fight for Henry, thinking that if he had to be under England's rule, then at least their shared King would have Welsh blood. This eventually backfired for him, not under the rule of the victorious Henry, but under his son, Henry VIII. It was under Henry VIII's reign that the Act of Union was signed, officially merging England and Wales. With this merger, which also included the ban of the Welsh language and any differentiation legally, Wales fully expected to fade away like many of the Ancient nations had already done. To his surprise, and thanks to his people's stubbornness in hanging onto their culture and language even in secret, he survived just fine. However, he lost his ability to do magic, though not to see magical creatures.
Wales had quite a few interactions with the Tudors. Henry VII let him live at Ludlow Castle in the Welsh Marches with his eldest son, Arthur, Prince of Wales. Wales knew Arthur rather well, having watched the boy grow up. He was also one of the few who realized how very much in love the Prince was with his young wife, Princess Katherine of Aragon. Later, he would be there when Henry VIII's eldest daughter, the then-Princess Mary, came to Ludlow. He was charmed by the young girl, and was personally very much on her and her mother's side in Henry's Great Matter.
After the merger, he returned to his brother's house, but was often still at court. He met Mary – now merely Lady Mary – again and found himself developing an affection for her of a different sort. He never let it get beyond courtly love, however, and Mary never thought he was anything but a friend. He was not in love with Elizabeth, though he liked her and was rather happy to discover that she spoke at least some Welsh.
After the end of the Tudors and the rise of the Scottish Stuart kings, Wales retreated into near-total anonymity. The effects of this are still obvious today, in that while nations recognize him as one of their own, they're not entirely sure just who he is, precisely. In most of the wars Britain got itself involved in, Wales would play the human soldier. One exception was the War of Austrian Succession – he was his brother's official backup in that war for the brief time they were involved. He met Austria and the two of them became friendly over shared interests – well, really, over music – but when England pulled out of the war there was no further contact. Wales didn't have too much interaction with the colonies England collected – he would play his flute or tell stories for the young ones on occasion but that was all, though he did bond a bit with Canada over being overlooked.
In the world wars of the 20th century, Wales returned to his playing human system of being a fighter, particularly in World War I. He proved to be very good at stealth missions, mostly because he wasn't easily recognized. In World War II, he was part of a unit of British intelligence that used Welsh to help develop codes. After the war, during occupation, he was stationed in Vienna to keep an eye on Austria. They hit it off again, but once occupation there ended in 1955, the friendship once again lapsed.
During the later part of the 20th century, Welsh affairs were more and more becoming handled separately from English affairs, culminating in a 1997 referendum that allowed for the creation of a National Assembly for Wales, as the new devolved government was called. For Wales, this is the closest to independence he's been since the Middle Ages, and the first time he's been a separate if not sovereign entity since 1536. Some of his magic returned to him when he got his devolved government, and he now lives in a flat in downtown Cardiff rather than in London at his brother's house.