Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 11th Baronet

Sir David Watkin Williams-Wynn, 11th Baronet of Bodelwyddan in the County of Flint (Wales), and of Gray's Inn in the county of Middlesex (London), (born 1940) is among the most important members of the surviving Welsh nobility and is the closest known living heir of the Princely House of Aberffraw, the former ruling family of Gwynedd and the Principality of Wales, who were deposed in the 1282 Edwardian Conquest of Wales. This family can trace their ancestry back to the rulers of Iron Age Britain.

His direct ancestors, the Williams family, were an important parliamentary and landowning family from Denbighshire, north Wales, who in the 17th Century married into the famous Wynn family of Gwydir, the direct patrilineal descendants of Owain Gwynedd, Prince of Gwynedd 1137–1170, and the only surviving branch of that dynasty. On the death of Sir John Wynn in 1719, his direct heiress Jane Thelwall inherited the Wynnstay estate and the claim to the Aberffraw legacy, and her husband Watkins Williams adopted the "Wynn" family name (thought to be derived from "Gwynedd") in honor of his wife's princely heritage. Jane and Watkins' decendents represent the closest line decendant from Rhodri the Great and Owain Gwynedd known to survive. If he were to claim the Princely title he may be known as "Dafydd III of Wales".

Sir David continues to live within the bounds of lower Gwynedd, in St. Asaph, Denbighshire, and takes an active part in local and country life. In particular he was President of the Denbigh & Flint Agricultural Show in 1992 [http://www.denbighandflintshow.com/pastpresidents.htm] . In 2008 he was in the news because it was widely reported that his daughter Alexandra - a sculptor and student at the Royal Academy of Arts - had modelled nude for the famous artist Lucien Freud. Eventually he will be succeeded by his son Charles Edward Watkin Williams-Wynn (born 1970), (who might be known as "Iorwerth I", the name "Edward" translated into Welsh). In the continued discussion of potential Welsh independence his name is occasionally brought forward as a theoretical candidate in Welsh monarchy scenarios.

It is claimed by some that there are living relatives of the Wynn family living in the United States who claim to be descended from either an Owen Wynn or a Hugh Wynn who supposedly emigrated there in the 17th Century. However, the sources for both these claims are considered to be very unreliable and probably later constructions [http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ttg13/mylespage2.html] . Certainly, if there were any sons or grandsons of Owen Wynn alive in 1719 then they would have inherited the Baronetcy. No one made any such claim so it seems most likely that there were no surviving sons or grandsons of Owen Wynn living in New England.

Further reading

* [http://www.denbighandflintshow.com/pastpresidents.htm Past Presidents of the Denbigh & Flint Agricultural Show]

References