Wales First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth Books Premier Inn After Forgetting Flat Keys

Wales' new first minister, Rhun ap Iorwerth, booked himself into a Premier Inn as his party marked its historic election win. He had forgotten the keys to his Cardiff flat.

Ap Iorwerth was driving from an election count in north Wales to Cardiff last Friday when he realized he left the keys at his main home in Anglesey, about 200 miles (321 km) from the Welsh capital.

Fresh from declaring a "new dawn" for Wales, he could not enter his Cardiff flat late at night. He spent the evening in the budget hotel's simple rooms.

He asked his father to bring the keys. They ended up celebrating together outside the Senedd the next morning.

His father, former teacher and Welsh language campaigner Edward Morus Jones, was photographed hugging the Plaid Cymru leader on the parliament steps Saturday as supporters gathered to cheer the election outcome.

On Tuesday, when ap Iorwerth was elected to lead the Welsh government, his father told ITV he felt "extremely proud and very glad to be alive" to witness his son become first minister.

"I can't hide the fact that I'm elated, but at the same time finding it very difficult to realise what's happening around me," he said. "It's a sort of cloud that we've been in since Friday."

Last Thursday's vote gave Plaid Cymru 43 seats and Reform UK 34, dropping Labour to third with nine seats in the expanded 96-member Senedd. The result ended Labour's century of dominance in Wales.

No overnight vote counting delayed confirmation until Friday evening, when Plaid emerged as Wales' largest party.

Ap Iorwerth represents Bangor Conwy Mon in north Wales. He lives on Anglesey island with his wife, Llinos, and their three grown children. Like many Senedd members, he keeps a property in Cardiff for work at the parliament and now the Welsh government headquarters.