Principality of Wales longer claim part of the inheritance, which Welsh law had allowed them to do. From 1301, the Plantagenet (and later, Tudor) English kings gave their heir apparent, if he was the king's son or grandson, the lands and title of "Prince of Wales". The one exception was Edward II's son, Edward of Windsor, who later became Edward III. Upon the heir's accession to the throne, the lands and title merged in the Crown. The first "English" Prince of Wales was Edward I's son, Edward of Caernarfon. A late 16th-century story claimed that Edward I gave him the title following his
King of Wales being from Wales he was by extension called the King of Wales, although he did not control all of the country. Nonetheless, he did unite much of the land under his power, thus demonstrating that it could be possible for Wales to exist as a unified political entity. Though he died in 878, the legacy of what he had accomplished was significant enough to act as motivation for future Welsh leaders to aspire to. This would eventually lead to the rule of Gruffudd ap Llywelyn, the first true Welsh king. From the smaller kingdoms of Wales eventually emerged four major