History UsefulNotes / Wales

* Music/KatherineJenkins, who like Charlotte Church really CAN sing, and unlike Charlotte Church has wisely decided to stay with what she knows best.

Because of the continuty of the Welsh with earlier Brittonic peoples (see UsefulNotes/CelticKingdoms) as a distinct entity doesn't have a clear starting point. However, by the late [[DarkAgeEurope Dark Ages]] there would have been a distinct sense of the Welsh being a people in their own right, speaking a different language to the English. Myth/WelshMythology has its origins in this period, and the conflict with the Anglo-Saxons (i.e. the English) often features prominently in Welsh legend, particularly in those concerning Myth/KingArthur - the oldest in any language and generally agreed to be the origin of that particular figure - whom in Welsh legend is a hero who successfully resists the Anglo-Saxon invasion - at least for a while.

* Several characters from Channel 4's classic sketch show ''Absolutely'', particularly DIY 'expert' Denzil and his equally repulsive wife, Gwyneth (played by Welsh comedy actor John Sparks and Morwenna Banks).

* ''The Owl Service'' by Creator/AlanGarner is set in Wales, based on themes from the Literature/{{Mabinogion}}.

* Music/{{Lostprophets}}
* Music/NoDevotion

* ''Ivor the Engine''.

* Ddraig of ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDXD'' is a Welsh Dragon, [[ADogNamedDog and of course his name means Dragon in Welsh]]. It's implied that he looks like a realistic version of the dragon on the Welsh flag.

* ''[[Series/YGwyll Y Gwyll/Hinterland]]'': a bilingual Mid-Wales detective drama in the vein of NordicNoir like ''Series/{{Wallander}}'', ''Series/BronBroen'', or ''Series/{{Forbrydelsen}}''.

* Creator/JAMIErightmeow (Jamie Hensley-Davies), former [[StorytimeAnimators Storytime Animator]], active from 2016-2022, now a vlogger.

Although soverign rule by the native Welsh thus came to an end in 1283, for most normal people things carried on as before, with the local FeudalOverlord having far more significance than the remote king of England; and some parts of Wales had already been ruled by local anglo-norman lords for centuries; in fact the period between Llywelyn's defeat and 1536 was in some senses a GoldenAge for Welsh culture, with a flowering of poetry in particular. The period was also punctuated by frequent Welsh rebellions, leading the English to construct a series of formiddable castles throughout the country; and Wales is noted for the sheer number and size of it's castles relative to the size of the country (with some 300 known castles of which at least 100 have some kind of visual remains, which are often quite impressive) - a testimony to how fiercely the Welsh resisted conquest. The most famous rebellion was that of Owain Glyndŵr[[note]]Sometimes rendered as ''Owen Glendower'' in English, most notably in Shakespeare's Henry IV pt. I.[[/note]]. Glyndŵr was briefly able to liberate the whole nation, naturally proclaiming himself ''Tywysog Cymru'' in the process, and although his rebellion was ultimately defeated he then [[NeverFoundTheBody disappeared without a trace]]. He understandably remains a [[FamedInStory popular hero]] to many Welsh people (and therefore [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters a villain to the English]]).

Military resistance to English rule effectively came to an end with the ascendancy of UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfTudor to the English throne in 1485. The Tudors numbered both Welsh and English royal families amongst their ancestors and Henry Tudor (Henry VII of England) had in fact been born in Wales and ''may'' have spoken Welsh, though it's far from clear to what extent he would have actually thought of himself as a Welshman, and to what extent his Welshness was instead emphasised as cunning propaganda. Regardless, the Tudors were strongly supported in Wales, and some Welshmen at the time welcomed his victory in the UsefulNotes/WarsOfTheRoses as the final victory of the Welsh over the English. He did incorporate the red dragon of Wales into his [[https://aroyalheraldry.weebly.com/blog/tudor-dynasty-king-henry-vii personal coat of arms]], and there were a number of people who accepted his rule based on an ancient prophecy (attributed to Merlin, no less) that a son of Wales would one day rule in London as king. Perversely, Henry's son, Henry VIII, legally incorporated Wales into England, and banned the use of the Welsh language in public office.

* Tayce, the first Welsh DragQueen to compete on ''Series/RupaulsDragRace UK''.

* Gareth Bale, footballer who was formerly a winger for [[UsefulNotes/EnglishPremierLeague Tottenham Hotspur]] before being sold for a record-breaking transfer fee to Real Madrid.

Much like Ireland, for much of its history both before and after this point Wales was fractured into numerous minor kingdoms ruled by individual houses, whose leaders were usually identified by the Welsh word ''Tywysog'' which is usually translated into English as Prince; the terms are not really equivalent though and Welsh Princes should not be understood as being subordinate to a King in the way we would understand a Prince to be in English[[note]]The democratically elected Irish president is known as a ''Toaiseach'', a term with a common origin.[[/note]]. Only occasionally were these various small kingdoms ever politically united, and rarely for long; on these occasions the successful ruler might claim the title ''Tywysog Cymru'' i.e. Prince of Wales, a title now given to the heir to the English throne (long story). By a quirk of Welsh legal tradition all sons would inherit equal portions of their father's estate, rather than the eldest and designated heir getting everything: this made it very difficult to establish lasting political dynasties because things would simply fracture again as soon as the ''Tywysog'' died.

* Creator/WindsorDavies'', actor best known for ''Series/ItAintHalfHotMum''.

* Creator/WindsorDavies'', actor best known for ''Series/ItAintHalfHotMum''

* Ruth Madoc, comic actress.

* Singer-songwriter Marina Diamandis of Music/MarinaDiamandis.

The Welsh language is a Celtic tongue that derives ultimately from languages spoken the prior to the Roman conquest. It is closely related to Breton and Cornish (spoken in the northwestern French province of Brittany and UsefulNotes/{{Cornwall}}, respectively, with all three making up the Brittonic or Brythonic subfamily), and more distantly related to the Goidelic Celtic languages - Scottish Gaelic, a surviving native language of Scotland; Irish, the native language of Ireland; and Manx, spoken on the Isle of Man.

Military resistance to English rule effectively came to an end with the ascendancy of UsefulNotes/TheHouseOfTudor to the English throne in 1485. The Tudors numbered both Welsh and English royal families amongst their ancestors and Henry Tudor (Henry VII of England) had in fact been born in Wales and ''may'' have spoken Welsh, though it's far from clear to what extent he would have actually thought of himself as a Welshman, and to what extent his Weshness was instead emphasised as cunning propaganda. Regardless, the Tudors were strongly supported in Wales, and some Welshmen at the time welcomed his victory in the UsefulNotes/WarsOfTheRoses as the final victory of the Welsh over the English. Perversely, Henry's son, Henry VIII, legally incorporated Wales into England, and banned the use of the Welsh language in public office.

Although Wales would remain part of England for legal purposes until 1967[[note]]To this day, most laws refer to "England and Wales", and the two share most procedure, in stark contrast to Scotland where the legal system works rather differently.[[/note]] thanks in a large part to its language (see below) and a continuing sense of national difference Wales continued to be considered a nation in its own right even though it had no political autonomy in practice. [[AliensInCardiff Cardiff]] (''Caerdydd'') had been proclaimed the capital of Wales in 1955. This was mostly because it was Wales' largest city; there was no government based there at the time, and pre-conquest Wales never really had a fixed capital. Since 1999 Wales now has a devolved parliament based there, albeit one with less power than the Scottish Parliament. Initially known as the Welsh Assembly, it was renamed the Welsh Parliament in 2020, alhtough even in English many refer to it by its Welsh name, the ''Senedd''. Although Welsh is by far the healthiest modern Celtic language and Welsh identity is widespread and firm, the majority of Welsh are comfortable with being called British (not English, of course--''British''), and are less interested in independence than the Scots, althouigh there is an active independence movement.

* Negi Springfield from ''Manga/NegimaMagisterNegiMagi'' Well, he spent a good deal of his childhood there.

* Ddraig of ''LightNovel/HighSchoolDXD'' is a Welsh Dragon. [[ADogNamedDog And of course his name means Dragon in Welsh]]. It's implied that he looks like a realistic version of the dragon on the Welsh flag.

* American film ''Film/HowGreenWasMyValley'' is set in a Welsh mining town.

** Monarch: Elizabeth II

* Geraint Wyn Davies, actor best known for playing vampire cop Nick Knight in ''{{Series/ForeverKnight}}''

* Creator/EveMyles, actress known for playing Gwen Cooper in ''Series/Torchwood''.

* Creator/NickyGrist, [[UsefulNotes/{{Rallying}} rally]] co-driver, best known for his work with Creator/ColinMcRae especially on the ''VideoGame/ColinMcRaeRally'' series of video games.
* UsefulNotes/ElfynEvans, [[UsefulNotes/{{Rallying}} rally]] driver, currently competing for the Ford M-Sport rally team

Military resistance to English rule effectively came to an end with the ascendancy of UsefulNotes/{{TheHouseOfTudor}} to the English throne in 1485. The Tudors numbered both Welsh and English royal families amongst their ancestors and Henry Tudor (Henry VII of England) had in fact been born in Wales and ''may'' have spoken Welsh, though it's far from clear to what extent he would have actually thought of himself as a Welshman, and to what extent his Weshness was instead emphasised as cunning propaganda. Regardless, the Tudors were strongly supported in Wales, and some Welshmen at the time welcomed his victory in the UsefulNotes/{{WarsOfTheRoses}} as the final victory of the Welsh over the English. Perversely, Henry's son, Henry VIII, legally incorporated Wales into England, and banned the use of the Welsh language in public office.