Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland
Henry Percy | |
---|---|
The Earl of Northumberland | |
Percy | |
Spouse(s) | Mary Talbot |
Father | Henry Percy, 5th Earl of Northumberland |
Mother | Catherine Spencer |
Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland, KG (c. 1502 – 1537) was an English nobleman, active as a military officer in the north.[1] He is now primarily remembered as the betrothed of Anne Boleyn, whom he was forced to give up before she became involved with and later married King Henry VIII.[2]
Early life
Henry Percy was born about 1502,
When quite young, Henry was sent to serve as a page in Thomas Wolsey's household. It was a way for young aristocrats to learn about their societies.[1] He was knighted in 1519. The principal source for the early passages of Percy's life is the biography of Wolsey by George Cavendish.[4]
Involvement with Anne Boleyn
Though his father had planned by 1516 to betroth Percy to Mary Talbot, the daughter of George Talbot, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury, he fell in love with Anne Boleyn, then a young lady about the court. Percy became betrothed to Anne, probably in the spring of 1523 when he was still page to Wolsey. On hearing the news, Wolsey scolded Lord Percy before his household, as permission for the marriage had not been sought from his father nor from the King. The latter had an interest due to the importance of the Northumberland earldom. While Cavendish claimed that the King already had a personal interest in Anne at this point, driving Wolsey's angry reaction, this has been debated.[5] The intrigue was soon discovered, and the Earl of Northumberland sent for young Lord Percy.
Besides the proposed Talbot match, another serious obstacle was that Anne was intended to wed
Another significant reason for Percy's father's refusal to permit the match was that he believed Anne Boleyn, a mere knight's daughter, not a high enough rank for his son and heir.
Marriage to Mary Talbot
Percy's father reportedly scolded him, saying "thou hast always been a proud, presumptuous, and unthrift waster," and he was quickly and unhappily married to Lady Mary Talbot, daughter of the Earl of Shrewsbury, by early 1524[6] or in 1525, with earlier legal stages.[7] Starkey dates it at August 1525 or August 1526.[8] The old earl allowed the couple little in the way of comforts or income. Wolsey attempted to insinuate his own servants into the household as a means of controlling the young Henry.[9]
By 1528, only four years into their marriage, the couple's relationship had broken down irretrievably. Northumberland suspected his wife of spying on him for Norfolk, while her father worried that the young husband was abusing her and might even poison her. Northumberland was outraged at Shrewsbury's suspicions and refused to permit his father-in-law's servants to see or speak to his wife. When the countess's brother-in-law, William, Lord Dacre, asked the Duke of Norfolk to defend her, Northumberland told Norfolk that he, Northumberland, would never see her again as long as he lived. The couple may have separated shortly thereafter, at least temporarily, since Mary delivered a stillborn child at her father's home in April 1529. In 1532, Mary accused her husband of a precontract (i.e. betrothal with legal force) with Anne Boleyn. She confided her alleged grievance to her father, who then mentioned the matter to Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk. Anne Boleyn, consulted, ordered an inquiry. Northumberland denied the accusation on oath.[1][10]
In 1536 Shrewsbury noted his daughter had been living with him for two and half years. At about the same time, Northumberland announced that he was bequeathing his entire inheritance to the King since he had no children, and he and his wife were not likely to have a legitimate heir. He was by then also estranged from his brothers, and did not want them to inherit his property.[11] Mary Talbot hated Henry heartily for the rest of his short life, and later sought a divorce.
Border warfare
In July 1522 Northumberland was made a member of the Council of the North; in October he was made deputy warden of the East Marches. His brother-in-law William Dacre suggested that, young as Northumberland was, he should be made warden the same year.
On 19 May 1527 he succeeded his father as sixth Earl of Northumberland; he was made steward of the
Northumberland was constantly ill with an
In spite of all this, Northumberland was very active on the borders. He had leave in 1528 to come to London; in 1530, while he was at
Northumberland took part in the trial of Lord Thomas Fiennes, 9th Baron Dacre, who at first pleaded ‘not guilty.’ to charges of treason. Dacre, however, was ‘over persuaded.’ He changed his plea to guilty. He must have hoped for, or expected, leniency. The judges and Dacre then tried to get the king's mercy. It wasn't forthcoming. Dacre was executed at Tyburn by hanging, having been given false hope when a stay of execution arrived in the morning. Three other of Dacre's party were also executed.
Northumberland was accused of slackness on the borders, and also of having a sword of state carried before him when he went as justiciary to York. If illness was in part responsible, Eustace Chapuys also ranked him, on information which he had from his doctor, among the disaffected early in 1535.[1]
In May 1536 Northumberland, by now a man in broken health, formed one of the jury for the trial of Anne Boleyn. Anne is said to have confessed a precontract with him in the hope of saving her life.[1] He collapsed following the verdict and had to be carried out.[12]
Later life
Having no children, Northumberland began to arrange his affairs. In February 1535 he wrote to Thomas Cromwell that he had decided to make the king his heir, a decision he confirmed later. In 1536 he was created Lord President of the Council of the North, and vicegerent of the Order of the Garter.[1]
In September 1536 he had a grant of £1,000 to come to London to make arrangements about his lands. The matter was incomplete when the
Northumberland made a grant to the king of his estates,
Northumberland died on 29 June 1537, and was buried in St Augustin's Church, now the site of St John at Hackney parish church.[1] A (presumed Victorian era) memorial plaque was discovered during the 2020 refurbishment of St John at Hackney, and was re-installed inside the church.
Family
He married, in 1524, Mary Talbot, daughter of George, 4th Earl of Shrewsbury, but left no surviving issue. They did have one known child, stillborn on April 1529 at the home of the earl of Shrewsbury, where Mary had gone to escape her husband.[11] The earldom fell into abeyance on his death, but was revived in favour of his nephew Thomas. His widow lived until 1572.[1]
Northumberland's two brothers,
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900. .
- ^ "Anne Boleyn | Biography, Children, Portrait, Death, & Facts". 16 May 2023.
- ^ Karen Lindsey, Divorced, Beheaded, Survived, xvii, Perseus Books, 1995
- ^ Ives, p. 63.
- ^ David Starkey, Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII, p.xxii. Starkey believes the story to be true.
- ^ doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/21937. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ Ives, p. 65, citing David Starkey.
- ^ p.xxii, David Starkey, Six Wives: The Queens of Henry VIII
- ISBN 9780719036255
- ^ Ives, p. 166
- ^ a b Harris, Barbara, J., English aristocratic women 1450 – 1500: marriage, family, property and careers, pg. 177.
- ^ Ives pp. 339 and 341
- ^ Letters and Papers of the Reign of Henry VIII, ed. James Gairdner, vol. X, nos. 459 and 460
- Eric Ives (2005), The Life and Death of Anne Boleyn