Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland

Who was Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland?

Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland was an English nobleman and military commander in the lead up to the Wars of the Roses. He was the son of Henry "Hotspur" Percy, and the grandson of Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland. His father and grandfather were killed in different rebellions against Henry IV in 1403 and 1405 respectively, and the young Henry spent his minority in exile in Scotland. Only after the death of Henry IV in 1413 was he reconciled with the Crown, and in 1416 he was created Earl of Northumberland.

In the following years, Northumberland occasionally served with the king in France, but his main occupation was the protection of the border to Scotland. At the same time, a feud with the Neville family was developing, particularly with Richard Neville, Earl of Salisbury. This feud became entangled with the conflict between the Duke of York and the Duke of Somerset over control of national government. The conflict culminated in the first battle of the Wars of the Roses, at St Albans, where both Somerset and Northumberland were killed.