Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland (3 February 139322 May 1455) 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 1408, 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 1414 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 Dukes of York and 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.
Family background
Henry Percy was the son of Sir Henry "Hotspur" Percy, and Lady Elizabeth Mortimer. Elizabeth was the daughter of Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March and Philippa, Countess of Ulster, daughter of Elizabeth de Burgh and Lionel of Antwerp, son of Edward III. Hotspur's father—the young Henry's grandfather—was also called Henry Percy, and in 1377 became the first of the Percy family to hold the title of Earl of Northumberland.
Both Hotspur and his father were early and active supporters of Henry Bolingbroke, who usurped the throne from Richard II in 1399, and became King Henry IV. They were initially richly rewarded, but soon grew disillusioned with the new regime. Hotspur rose up in rebellion, and was killed at Shrewsbury on 21 July 1403.
Hotspur's father, the earl, was not present at the battle, but there is little doubt that he participated in the rebellion. After a short imprisonment, he was pardoned, and in June 1404 he delivered his grandson into the king's custody at Doncaster.
By May 1405, however, the earl was involved in another rebellion. His plans failed, and he was forced to flee to Scotland, taking his grandson with him. The following years were marked by an itinerant life and further plotting, while the young Henry remained in the custody of the Duke of Albany.
Henry remained in Scotland until the accession of Henry V in 1413, when he tried to claim his grandfather's title. His cause was aided by the king's aunt, Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland, who arranged his marriage to her daughter Eleanor.
It was in Henry V's interest to reconcile with the Percys, with their vast network in the north of England; on 11 May 1414, Henry Percy was restored to the Earldom of Northumberland, followed by a formal creation on 16 March 1416.