Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, is…

Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, is the son of Henry de Percy, 3rd Baron Percy and a descendent of Henry III of England.

His mother was Mary of Lancaster, daughter of Henry Plantagenet, 3rd Earl of Leicester, son of Edmund Crouchback, who was the son of Henry III.

Henry Percy had married Margaret Neville, daughter of Ralph Neville, 2nd Baron Neville de Raby and Alice de Audley.

Henry Percy had originally been a follower of Edward III, for whom he held high offices in the administration of northern England, and had gone on to support Richard II.

Given the title of Marshal of England and created an Earl at Richard's coronation in 1377, he switches to the side of Henry Bolingbroke in 1399 after Richard creates his chief rival, Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland.

Richard’s departure for Ireland has allowed Bolingbroke the opportunity to land at Ravenspur in Yorkshire towards the end of June 1399 with Arundel and a small group of followers.

Accompanying Bolingbroke is Northumberland’s son Henry Percy, also called Harry Hotspur, who had early acquired a great reputation as a warrior, fighting against the Scots and the French.

Hotspur had fought against the Scottish forces of James Douglas, 2nd Earl of Douglas at the midnight Battle of Otterburn in August, 1388 and had been captured, but later ransomed.

He had gone to Calais in 1391 and served from 1393 to 1395 as Governor of Bordeaux.

Men from all over the country soon rally around the duke.

Meeting with Northumberland, who has his own misgivings about the king, Bolingbroke insists that his only object is to regain his own patrimony.

Percy takes him at his word and declines to interfere.