Principality of Chester

Earldom of Chester subsidiary of Principality of Wales since 1343
Arms of Charles, Prince of Wales, Earl of Chester: Quarterly, 1st and 4th Gules three lions passant guardant in pale Or armed and langued Azure (for England), 2nd quarter Or a lion rampant within a double tressure flory-counter-flory Gules (for Scotland), 3rd quarter Azure a harp Or stringed Argent (for Ireland), with over all a label of three points Argent, and on an inescutcheon ensigned by the coronet of the heir-apparent, quarterly, Or and Gules four lions passant guardant counterchanged (for the Principality of Wales).
Creation date	1067 (first creation) 1071 (second creation) 1254 (third creation) 1264 (fourth creation) 1301 (fifth creation) 1312 (sixth creation) see Prince of Wales for further creations, up to 1958 (current creation)
Monarch	William the Conqueror (first creation) William the Conqueror (second creation) Henry III (third creation) Henry III (fourth creation) Edward I (fifth creation) Edward II (sixth creation) Elizabeth II (current, twenty-ninth, creation)
Peerage	Peerage of the United Kingdom
First holder	Gerbod the Fleming, 1st Earl of Chester
Present holder	Charles, Prince of Wales
Heir apparent	William, Duke of Cambridge
Extinction date	1070 (first creation) 1237 (second creation) 1272 (third creation) 1265 (fourth creation) 1307 (fifth creation) 1327 (sixth creation)
Former seat(s)	Chester Castle
Armorial motto	Ich dien (I serve)

The Earldom of Chester (Welsh: Iarll Caer) was one of the most powerful earldoms in medieval England, extending principally over the counties of Cheshire and Flintshire. Since 1301 the title has generally been granted to heirs-apparent to the English throne, and from the late 14th century it has been given only in conjunction with that of Prince of Wales.

The County of Cheshire was held by the powerful Earls (or "Counts" from the Norman-French) of Chester from the late eleventh century, and they held land all over England, comprising 'the honour of Chester'. By the late twelfth century (if not earlier) the earls had established a position of power as quasi-princely rulers of Cheshire that led to the later establishment of the County Palatine of Chester and Flint. Such was their power that the Magna Carta set down by King John did not apply to Cheshire and the sixth earl was compelled to issue his own version.

The earldom passed to the Crown by escheat in 1237 on the death of John the Scot, Earl of Huntingdon, seventh and last of the Earls. 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 other co-heiresses did likewise. It was annexed to the Crown in 1246. King Henry III then passed the Lordship of Chester, but not the title of Earl, to his son, the Lord Edward, in 1254; as King Edward I, this son in turn conferred the title and lands of the Earldom on his son, Edward, the first English Prince of Wales. By that time, the Earldom of Chester consisted of two counties: Cheshire and Flintshire.