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Wales and the Tudor Acts of Union

How the Tudor monarchs — themselves of Welsh descent — fully integrated Wales into the English state.

The Tudor dynasty traced its origins to Owen Tudor, a Welsh courtier in the household of Henry V. His grandson Henry VII was crowned King of England in 1485 after the Battle of Bosworth. Under Henry VIII the Acts of Union of 1536 and 1542 brought Wales fully into the English legal system, gave Welsh constituencies seats in the English Parliament, and made English the official language of administration.

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Welsh remained the everyday language of most people in Wales for the next three centuries; bilingualism is now actively promoted in education, government and broadcasting. The Welsh Language Act 1993 gave Welsh equal legal status with English in Wales for the conduct of public business.

You may be asked which Tudor monarch passed the first Act of Union with Wales (Henry VIII), or which year (1536).

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