Alphonso, Earl of Chester

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English Royalty
House of Plantagenet

Armorial of Plantagenet
Edward I
   Joan, Countess of Gloucester
   Alphonso, Earl of Chester
   Edward II
   Thomas, Earl of Norfolk
   Edmund, Earl of Kent

Alphonso (24 November 127319 August 1284) was the ninth child of Edward I of England and Eleanor of Castile. The belief that Alphonso was created earl of Chester is without contemporary foundation. That belief apparently originated in the 17th century because Edward III in 1338 formally made the earldom of Chester one of the honors (along with the duchy of Cornwall) borne by eldest sons and heirs-apparent of the kings of England. There is no record evidence whatever that Edward I gave his son that title. Such an important act would have been noted in the records of the royal Chancery. Furthermore in the records of the households of Alphonso's parents, he is never called "earl of Chester," only "the Lord Alphonso," proving that in his lifetime, he was known by no other title. Alphonso was born at Bayonne, in Gascony, and named after his maternal uncle, King Alfonso X of Castile, who was his godfather. Alphonso died at Windsor, aged 10, shortly after the birth of his younger brother (later Edward II of England). His death left his brother as the only surviving male heir of Edward I. Alphonso was interred at Westminster Abbey.

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