Owain Gwynedd

No, I'm sulking about missing all the whales.

Owain Gwynedd, Gwenllian, Krug Mawa.

Oh, sorry chap, apparently there's wine in Exeter, lots of it.

Ooh, wine.

His solution was to march an army across the Irish Sea and assert his feudal right over the kingdoms that had long resisted English domination.

In 1157, he dispatched a sizable force through Carmarthenshire, aiming at the principalities of Rhys Ap Tewdwr and Owain Gwynedd.

The campaign ended in a disastrous defeat at the Battle of Ello, an ambush that nearly cost him his life and exposed the limits of a hastily raised army against seasoned Welsh warriors.

Contemporary chronicles note that the English soldiers were unprepared for the rugged terrain and the Welsh's intimate knowledge of the hills, forcing Henry to retreat to Dover with blood on his armor and a wounded pride.

In 1163, Henry launched a renewed campaign with better preparation and intelligence.

He brought his son, the young, young King Henry, as a co-ruler to signal legitimacy.

The army captured strategic locations such as Carmarthen and Bridgnorth, forcing Rhys Ap Tewdwr and Owain Gwynedd to acknowledge him as their liege lord.

At the Council of Caerphilly, both Welsh princes formally paid homage and agreed to pay annual tribute in exchange for protection against each other's rivalries.