Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland

For other people named Henry Percy, see Henry Percy (disambiguation).

Henry Percy
3rd Earl of Northumberland
Picture of Henry Percy's coat of arms
Arms of Percy (modern),[a] as seen on seal of Henry Percy: Or, a lion rampant azure (1&4); Gules, three lucies hauriant argent (2&3)[1]
Born25 July 1421
Leconfield, Yorkshire, England
Died29 March 1461 (aged 39)
Battle of Towton, Yorkshire
BuriedSt Denys's Church, York
FamilyPercy
SpouseEleanor Poynings (m. 1435)
Issue
Detail
FatherHenry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland
MotherLady Eleanor Neville
Seal of Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland (1421–1461). Inscribed: Sigillum Henrici Percy comitis Northumbr (...) + (et) d (omin)i de Cokermouth ("seal of Henry Percy Earl of Northumberland and lord of Cockermouth"). On the escutcheon are shown arms quarterly of 4: 1&4 :Or, a lion rampant azure (Brabant (Percy)); 2&3: Gules, three lucies hauriant argent (Lucy). Crest above: On a chapeau gules turned up ermine a lion statant the tail extended azure (Percy)[2]
Arms of Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland impaling Poynings, his wife's family. Detail from the 16th century stained glass Percy Window at Petworth House, Sussex

Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland, (25 July 1421 – 29 March 1461) was an English magnate.

The Earldom of Northumberland was then one of the greatest landholdings in northern England; Percy also became Lord Poynings on his marriage. This title would bring him into direct conflict with the Poynings family themselves, and indeed, feuds with neighbouring nobles, both lay and ecclesiastical, would be a key occupancy of his youth.

Percy married Eleanor Poynings, who outlived him; together they had four children. He was a leading Lancastrian during the Wars of the Roses, from which he managed to personally benefit, although his father died early in the war. He was not, however, to live to enjoy these gains, being killed at the Battle of Towton in 1461 on the defeated Lancastrian side.


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  1. ^ Burke's Landed Gentry, 1937, p.1792 [full citation needed]
  2. ^ Debrett's Peerage, 1968, p.849 [full citation needed]