Chester

Chester was the centre of a county palatine on England's Welsh border. Its earls exercised near-regal powers until the last independent earl died without an heir in 1237; in 1337 the palatinate belonged to the English Crown.

Richard II made the county a principality in 1397, but the change was reversed in 1399. During the English Civil War, Chester held out for the king until a parliamentary siege starved the city into surrender to its besiegers.