A Welsh prince and an English queen

On November 28th, 1170, the brilliant Welsh leader, Owain Gwynedd, also called Owain Fawr, Owain the Great, died at age 70. His most capable and gifted son, the poet-prince Hywel ab Owain, expected to succeed him, but sadly he was ambushed and killed by his treacherous half-brothers Davydd and Rhodri. I got even with Davydd by making him the villain of the piece in my mystery, Dragon’s Lair, but the death of Hywel was a great blow to the Welsh. Fortunately Owain’s grandson Llywelyn ab Iorwerth would soon be blazing like a comet across the skies of Wales and in 1194, the 21 year old Llywelyn defeated Davydd and sent him off into English exile.

On November 28th, 1290, Edward I’s queen, Eleanora of Castile, died at age 49. Her grieving husband set up the beautiful Eleanor crosses in her memory. That romantic gesture and the legend that she’d sucked the poison from Edward’s wound when he was attacked by an Assassin with a poisoned dagger have made Eleanora popular with the general public, but she was not so popular in her own time, having earned herself a reputation for avarice. We do know that she was dearly loved by the honorable Othon, though, and maybe Ken will consider posting something on Othon’s behalf about the lady he discreetly worshipped from a distance?

Lastly, Henry Tudor and Elizabeth of York’s daughter Margaret was born on this date in 1489; she would later marry the King of Scotland, but her life was not a particularly happy one, and worse was to come. The screen writers of The Tudors erased her from the Tudor family tree; or so I’ve been told by friends who watched that fantasy series.