Earl of Chester

Such was their power that Magna Carta set down by King John did not apply to Cheshire and the sixth earl was compelled to issue his own version.

William III de Forz, 4th Earl of Albemarle, claimed the earldom as husband of Christina, the senior co-heir, but the king persuaded them to quitclaim their rights in 1241 in exchange for modest lands elsewhere.

The establishment of royal control of the Earldom of Chester made possible King Edward I's conquest of north Wales, and Chester played a vital part as a supply base during the Welsh Wars (1275–84), so the separate organisation of a county palatine was preserved.

Whereas the Sovereign's eldest son is automatically Duke of Cornwall, he must be made or created Earl of Chester as well as Prince of Wales.

The independent palatinate jurisdiction of Chester survived until the time of King Henry VIII (1536), when the earldom was brought more directly under the control of the Crown.

Hugh de Kevelioc used six wheatsheafs on his arms. His son Ranulf de Blondeville reduced their number to three, and this form has become an emblem of Cheshire generally, despite later earls bearing different arms. [ 2 ] Blazon: Azure , three garbs ( sheafs of wheat).
The strategic location of the Earldom of Chester; the only county palatine on the Welsh Marches. [ 4 ]

Pura Wallia (independent Wales)
Lands gained by Llywelyn the Great in 1234
Marchia Wallie (lands controlled by Norman Marcher barons)