Richard d'Avranches 2nd Earl of Chester ¹

  Research Notes:

From Wikipedia - Richard d'Avranches, 2nd Earl of Chester :

Richard d'Avranches, 2nd Earl of Chester (1094-25 November 1120 ), was the son of Hugh, 1st Earl of Chester and Ermentrude of Clermont .

Early life
He was seven years old when his father, known as Hugh the Fat, was killed. He probably came into his inheritance in 1107. He married Lucia-Mahaut , daughter of Stephen, Count of Blois .

Military career
At the age of twenty, in 1114, Richard was on military campaign and was styled the Earl of Chester. Together with King Alexander of Scotland , he led an Anglo-Norman army into Gwynedd as part of a three-pronged campaign organised by Henry I of England against Gwynedd, and Gruffydd ap Cynan . Gruffydd, rather than risk battle, satisfied the King with an oath of homage and a suitable fine. The campaign soon fizzled out, and Richard returned to Chester .

White Ship
The line of the d'Avranches as Earls of Chester failed when Richard, with his illegitimate half-brother Ottuel , joined the young William Adelin , heir to the English King Henry aboard the doomed White Ship . The ship went down, drowning all but one boy, in the year 1120. Richard died aged twenty-six, leaving no issue.

The earldom then passed through his father Hugh's sister Maud to Richard's first cousin Ranulph I , in 1121.

  Death Notes:

Died in the White Ship disaster.