A TORY MP yesterday revealed his blood link with rebel prince Owain Glyndær - father of the Welsh parliament. But David Davies accused his famous ancestor of being more interested in land-grabbing than Welsh nationalism. He insisted the rebel was no hero - claiming the crown contender ravaged parts of mid-Wales in a neighbours' dispute.. The Tory MP for Monmouth and his Welsh historian and genealogy expert dad Peter traced back their family tree back more than 600 years. They discovered their family were descended from Owain Glyndær's sister Lowri. She married Owain's partner-in-arms Robert Puleston of Emral Hall, Bangor on Dee. Glyndær (1349-1416) established the first Welsh parliament in Mach-ynlleth, striking a recognition treaty with Spain and France, and inflicted a bloody defeat on King Henry IV at the battle of Stalling Down. He was described by Shakespeare as "not in the roll of common men". Mr Davies said he was proud of his heritage but believed it was wrong for the prince to be remembered as a Welsh nationalist hero. Speaking in the House of Commons, he said: "Owain Glyndær, of whom I am a distant descendant, did not control the whole of Wales and was quite unpopular in large parts of Monmouthshire, which he ravaged. "In fact, Newport was so badly damaged there was a great debate about whether it should even be rebuilt after Owain Glyndær had finished his depredations." He later said Glyndær's campaign through Wales was sparked more by a dispute with his neighbour Lord Grey of Ruthin then any wish to forge an independent Wales. Meanwhile, Wales office officials are poring over history books to dis-cover whether the Government of Wales Bill will create the first Welsh seal. The Great Seal of the Realm is used by the Queen to stamp her approval on legislation and important state documents. A separate Great Seal of Scotland is used to stamp Scottish acts but Tories claim no such seal ever existed for Wales. Conservative spokeswoman Cheryl Gillan said: "If this is the first Welsh seal, it is an historic moment." But fellow Tory Dominic Grieve told the Commons Llewellyn the Great used a seal to evidence his acts. And Plaid Cymru's Hywel Williams pointed out Owain Glyndær had a seal appended to the Pennal letter sent to the king of France. | 
