Welsh Seal

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The Welsh Seal (Welsh: Y Sêl Gymreig) is a seal used by the First Minister of Wales to seal letters patent signed by the monarch giving royal assent to bills passed by the Senedd (Welsh Parliament; Welsh: Senedd Cymru). The sealed bill is thereby enacted, becoming an Act of Senedd Cymru.

From the start of Welsh devolution in 1999, a Measure of the National Assembly for Wales was authorised by the crown using the Great Seal of the Realm kept at Westminster. This seal was conceived in England under the reign of Edward the Confessor, allowing an appointed officer to authorise official documents with an impression in wax rather than requiring the signature of the monarch. Under Part 4 of the Government of Wales Act 2006, which was brought into force after a 2011 referendum, the Welsh Assembly (since 2020 the Senedd) was given greater power, to make Acts instead of Measures, using a separate Welsh Seal instead of the Great Seal of the Realm. This was the first Welsh seal to be used since the time of Owain Glyndŵr.^[1] The 2006 act also designated the First Minister as "Keeper of the Welsh Seal" (Ceidwad y Sêl Gymreig).^[2]