Arundel & Boxgrove Priory in West Sussex. Arundel is a town in the South Downs of West Sussex in the south of England. Arundel town is a major bridging point over the River Arun. Arundel Castle was built by the Normans to protect that vulnerable point to the north of the valley through the South Downs. The town later grew up on the slope below the castle to the south. The river was previously called the Tarrant and was renamed after the town by antiquarians in a back-formation.

The title Earl of Arundel was first created in 1138 for the Norman baron William d'Aubigny. Until the mid-13th century, the Earls were also frequently known as Earl of Sussex, until this title fell into disuse. At about the same time, the Earldom fell to the originally Breton Fitzalan family, a younger branch of which went on to become the Stuart family which later ruled Scotland. This shared lineage led to very close ties between the Stewarts and the FitzAlans over the centuries. The last FitzAlan holder of the Earldom, Henry FitzAlan, was implicated in the Ridolfi Plot to place Mary I of Scotland, of the House of Stewart, on the English Throne. This led to FitzAlan being placed under house arrest for the remainder of his life. This same Henry FitzAlan received after Mary of Scotland's execution, the rosary and prayer book which she carried to her execution. It is amongst the Arundel relics which the Dukes of Norfolk hold today.

A tradition arose that the holder of Arundel Castle should automatically be Earl of Arundel, and this was formally confirmed by king Henry VI. However this had not always been consistently adhered to. Some of the Lords of Arundel were never addressed as Earl during their lifetime, but nevertheless, are counted and numbered as earls here. Other sources may not include some of the earls listed below, and may consider the earldom to have been created more than once. Contrary to the list of succession listed below, the FitzAlan-Howard Estate claims a different numbering of the Earls of Arundel. The d'Albinis were the first creation of the Earldom, and had numbers 1–5. That line and consequently that creation of the earldom, died out with Hugh d'Albini. It was later re-created and vested in the person of Richard FitzAlan, the great grandson of Isabel d'Albini, who married John FitzAlan. Richard became the 1st Earl of Arundel.

In his 1834 book on the Earls of Arundel, M.A. Tierney (Chaplain to the Duke of Norfolk) maintains that the first incarnation of the Earldom was with the House of Montgomery. Roger of Montgomery, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury was one of William the Conqueror's top generals, and William bestowed on him, amongst several hundred other manors, the property at Arundel, with the charge to fortify it with a castle. Montgomery is believed to have built the motte that is extant to this day, and is thought to have built a wooden keep on it, overlooking the river Arun. Montgomery and two of his sons are counted by many as being the first incarnation of the Earldom, but for the reasons stated elsewhere here, are often not counted amongst the Earls. On the death of the 19th Earl in 1580, the title fell to Philip Howard, eldest son of the attainted Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk by his wife, the only daughter of the last Fitzalan Earl. Like his father, the new Earl was soon attainted for plotting against Queen Elizabeth, and the title was only restored following the accession of James I. The 23rd Earl was restored to the Dukedom of Norfolk in 1660, and the title has descended with that Dukedom ever since.

Arundel Castle was originally built during the reign of Edward the Confessor as a fortification for the River Arun and defence of the land from invaders. The original castle was a Motte and Bailey castle, and during the reign of William the Conqueror the castle went through important re-structuring. The motte was built up to a larger size and work was done to improve defence. Roger de Montgomery was created Earl of Arundel in the mid 11th century. When the Earl died, the castle reverted to the crown under Henry I. The King, in his will, left the castle and land to his second wife Adeliza of Louvain. In 1132, the Empress Matilda was invited to the castle, on the way to press her claim to the throne from Stephen. The stone apartments were constructed and still survive today. In 1138, three years after the death of Henry I, Adeliza married William d'Albani II. William was responsible for the stone shell on the motte, which increased the defence and the status of the castle. In 1155 William d'Albani was confirmed as Earl of Arundel.

In 1176, William d'Aubigny died and Arundel reverted to the crown, under Henry II, who spent a vast amount of money on re-structuring the building, mainly for domestic needs. When Henry died, the castle stayed in the possession of Richard the Lionheart , who gave it back to the Aubigny family line with William III comte de Sussex. The last of the Aubigny family was Hugh, who died young in 1243. When Hugh's sister Isobel was married to John FitzAlan of Clun, the castle and titles returned to him. The FitzAlans had an uninterrupted line until 1555. The last of the FitzAlans, Mary, married Thomas 4th Duke of Norfolk. The castle and titles came to him until his execution for treason under Elizabeth I.

Upon the death of John FitzAlan in 1272 the castle and titles passed to his five-year-old son Richard. Thirteen years later, Edward I granted Richard the right to hold two fairs a yeare at the castle, and for him to collect taxes. This provided funding for the much needed renovation of the castle, which had fallen into disrepair. Richard won the favour of Edward I, and the two fought against the Scots in 1300. Richard added the well tower and re-constructed the entrance to the keep. After Richard's death, his son Edmund, second Earl of Arundel, was executed for his part in the rebellion against Edward II. Arundel passed to the 6th son of Edward I, but he was also executed later on. The castle and titles passed back to the FitzAlans four years later.

The third Earl, Richard, fought at Crécy with Edward III and the Edward, the Black Prince. He was responsible for the building of the FitzAlan Chapel, built posthumously according to his will. The fourth Earl, Richard, was treated harshly by Richard II. At the funeral of the Queen Anne, the Earl was beaten for arriving late and asking to leave early. The King eventually grew tired of his treachery and the Earl was executed. Richard II gave Arundel to the Duke of Exeter. When the Duke of Exeter was executed by Henry IV he gave Arundel back to the FitzAlan line. He married the daughter of John of Portugal, and they were the first members of the FitzAlan family to be buried in the chapel built by the third Earl. Mary de Bohun (c. 1369 – June 4, 1394) was the first wife of King Henry IV of England and the mother of King Henry V, but was never queen. The daughter of Humphrey de Bohun, 7th Earl of Hereford, she was a great heiress, and her elder sister, Eleanor, became the wife of Thomas of Woodstock, first Duke of Gloucester, the youngest child of Edward III. Mary married Henry, then known as Bolingbroke and nowhere in the line of succession to the throne, in 1380 or 1381. It was at Monmouth, one of her father's possessions, that she gave birth to her first two sons, Edward (who died in infancy) and Henry, later Henry V. Three more sons and two daughters were born in the years up to 1394. Mary died giving birth to the last child, Philippa, who married in 1406 Eric of Pomerania, king of the Kalmar Union of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. In 1406, English pirates captured the future James I of Scotland off the coast of Flamborough Head as he was going to France. James remained a prisoner of Henry for the rest of Henry's reign.

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