The native Welsh princes ruled small kingdoms across Wales for many centuries. Llywelyn ap Gruffudd was recognised as the first and only "Prince of Wales" by the English crown in 1267, but was killed in 1282 fighting Edward I. The Statute of Rhuddlan in 1284 placed Wales under English law and administration. From 1301 the title Prince of Wales has been given to the heir to the English (and later British) throne.
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The Acts of Union of 1536 and 1542 fully integrated Wales into the English legal system and gave it parliamentary representation at Westminster. Welsh language and culture remained strong despite long periods of pressure, and from 1999 the National Assembly for Wales (now the Senedd) has gradually acquired increasing devolved powers.
You may be asked which year Edward I conquered Wales (1284), or which law-making body sits in Cardiff today (the Senedd).
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