(Anne Boleyn and Henry Percy in The Other Boleyn Girl – © BBC)
Before the famous love story of King Henry VIII and his second wife Anne Boleyn, there was another man who claimed the heart of the young Englishwoman. Another Henry who came so close to marrying the intelligent and intriguing Anne Boleyn but their love was ultimately not to be and even caused both some damage in the following years. This man was Henry Percy, the 6th Earl of Northumberland who was said to have been Anne Boleyn’s first love and the man she could have married other than Henry VIII—had their love prevailed, both might have been spared from the tragedies that plagued them later in life.
Born circa.1502, Henry Percy was the eldest son of Henry Percy, the 5th Earl of Northumberland, and his wife Catherine Spencer. It is through his mother that Henry was a first cousin of Sir William Carey; the brother-in-law to Anne Boleyn through her sister, Mary.
Not an awful lot is known about Henry Percy’s early life and what we do know about his earlier years is from George Cavendish’s biography of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey but it can be assumed that most of his childhood was spent learning about his future responsibilities as an earl and as a man of God. Young boys from aristocratic families like Henry’s would have received a fine education and, at some point during his youth, he was employed as a page (traditionally a young male attendant or servant, but may also have been a messenger in the service of a nobleman) in the household of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey—the King’s Lord Chancellor and his most trusted advisor. This position was not to be taken lightly as it was indeed a great honour for young males from aristocratic families to be able to learn about society, religion, and their duties to the King from such valued members of the King’s court.
Cardinal Wolsey must have held Henry Percy in high regard as he soon promoted him to become one of his secretaries, an exciting opportunity for any man wanting to leave his mark in history. Through his role as a secretary to Cardinal Wolsey, Henry would have learned a great deal about the English court, politics and likely had better access to some of the most influential men in England. And with this in mind, Henry’s father soon began to think of his son’s future, more specifically; his future wife.
Whilst arranged marriages were quite the norm during the sixteenth century, it did not necessarily mean that those within them agreed or even liked their future spouse. We often hear of how many young women were forced to marry much older men who treated them poorly or of them marrying handsome, influential men who later turn out to be unfaithful and abusive but very rarely do we see refusal and unhappiness coming from the man himself. Even more rare is it to see a couple who share an equal hatred, so it seems, and discontentment within their marriage. Such as it was for Henry Percy and his future wife.
By 1516, Henry Percy’s father had chosen what he deemed to be the perfect bride for his son; Mary Talbot, the daughter of George Talbot, the 4th Earl of Shrewsbury, and his first wife Anne Hastings who died in 1520. Through this marriage, Henry would marry the daughter of an Earl and, hopefully, continue the Percy name, keeping the earldom within the family. We do not know much about Mary but it can be assumed that she was of a similar age to him or only a few years younger. Nor do we know of how the couple initially reacted to the news of their betrothal in 1516 but, once again, we can assume the young couple were anxious about their upcoming marriage and whether they would like each other.
Did they ever meet during this time?
It is hard to say as we have so little information regarding their lives.
1519 would mark a glorious occasion for the now roughly seventeen-year-old Henry, if the birthdate of 1502 is correct, as he would be knighted by the King, something that would have meant a great deal to Henry and his family. You would now assume that Mary Talbot, his betrothed, would feel quite happy to be marrying a knight as it was one of the highest honours that the King could bestow and it would greatly increase her wealth and status at court.
Unfortunately, in just a few short years, poor Mary would find herself being cast away from her future husband’s thoughts as he soon fell in love with another woman—the intriguing Lady Anne Boleyn, the daughter of Thomas Boleyn; the 1st Earl of Wiltshire, the 1st Earl of Ormond and the 1st Viscount Rochford.
. . .
We know for certain that Lady Anne Boleyn returned to the English court from France by February 1522 because records state that she was part of a court masque where she (ironically) played the part of Perseverance alongside many other beautiful young women of the Tudor court. At this time, Henry Percy was still within the service of Cardinal Wolsey as one of his secretaries and this offered him access, according to George Cavendish, to the Queen’s chamber and her ladies-in-waiting. And it is said that this is where he was first introduced to Anne Boleyn.
Prior to Anne’s return to England, both her father and Cardinal Wolsey had been negotiating a marriage between Anne Boleyn and her Welsh cousin, James Butler. Essentially, the marriage between Anne and James was to settle a family dispute that could have ended badly had Cardinal Wolsey not intervened. You can read about who James Butler was and more on the proposed marriage between him and Anne in our post ‘James Butler – the man who almost married Anne Boleyn’.
This meant that Anne was in the processes of becoming formally betrothed to James Butler whilst Henry Percy was still betrothed to Mary Talbot at the time of their meeting in 1522.
Interestingly, both Henry Percy and James Butler were both in the service of Cardinal Wolsey at this point, with James being a page, so there is a slight chance that both men were aware of their involvement, in a sense, with the Lady Boleyn and this might have caused some jealousy or rivalry between them.
The relationship between Henry Percy and Anne Boleyn must have blossomed fairly quickly as the pair soon became betrothed in 1523, meaning that both intended to go against the wishes of their fathers regarding marriage. And the decision for them to become betrothed (or engaged) would prove to be a disastrous one for them both later down the line.
And this decision had severe consequences.
. . .
In the Tudor era, a betrothal was legally binding as it meant the couple was precontracted to marry. A betrothal was taken extremely seriously during this time although a couple could become precontracted very easily. A couple could announce in front of witnesses their intent to marry and become formally betrothed and for the upper classes of society, it was the norm for contracts to be drawn up detailing the financial or societal obligations for the families involved. That does not mean to say that a precontracted marriage could not be broken as they were broken all the time but a couple could not marry if one or both parties were proven to be precontracted to another—unless they had a papal dispensation from the Pope like Henry VIII and Catherine of Aragon did due to her prior marriage to his older brother, Arthur. This was the case with Henry Percy as he was precontracted to marry Mary Talbot when he became betrothed to Anne Boleyn.
It is possible that, because precontracted marriages were legally binding, some couples might have consummated the relationship prior to the wedding and, if this happened, it practically made it impossible to cancel the wedding because the relationship was consummated in the eyes of God.
Since Anne’s potential marriage to James Butler was not confirmed at this point, she was not precontracted to marry him and would suffer no consequences—there is the possibility that Anne was never aware of the marriage negotiations but I believe she was intelligent enough to understand why she was called back from France so suddenly. According to George Cavendish, what we know of Anne Boleyn’s character and her moral standards suggests that it would be unlikely that Anne would have engaged in a romantic relationship with Henry Percy if she knew she was soon to be engaged to James Butler, so the chance of her knowing about it are pretty slim. She might have known a marriage was being suggested or negotiated but we just do not know.
But since Henry Percy was precontracted, the people around him, including his future bride Mary Talbot, were not happy when he announced he wished to marry Lady Anne Boleyn.
Cardinal Thomas Wolsey was amongst the people upset—or more like enraged—regarding Henry Percy’s betrothal to Lady Anne Boleyn, especially since he had been working so hard for years to secure the marriage between James Butler and Anne Boleyn to end the family feud. As soon as he found out, he immediately scolded Henry for his inappropriate behaviour in front of his entire household, embarrassing Henry in the process. George Cavendish records Cardinal Wolsey scolding as follows:
I marvel not a little of thy peevish folly, that thou wouldest tangle and ensure thyself with a foolish girl yonder in the court, I mean Anne Boleyn. Dost thou not consider the estate that God hath called thee unto in this world? For after the death of thy noble father, thou art most like to inherit and possess one of the most worthiest earldoms of this realm. [...] Ye have not only offended your natural father, but also your most gracious sovereign lord, and matched yourself with one, such as neither the king, nor yet your father will be agreeable with the matter.
And hereof I put you out of doubt, that I will send for your father, and at his coming, he shall either break this unadvised contract, or else disinherit thee for ever. The king's majesty himself will complain to thy father on thee, and require no less at his hands than I have said; whose Highness intended to have preferred [betrothed] her unto another person, with whom the king hath travailed already, and being almost at a point with the same person, although she knoweth it not, yet hath the king, most like a politic and prudent prince, conveyed the matter in such sort, that she, upon the king's motion, will be, I doubt not, right glad and agreeable to the same [1].
He continues by recording Percy’s weeping:
... in this matter I have gone so far, before many so worthy witnesses, that I know not how to avoid myself nor to discharge my conscience [1].
Interestingly, it has become a common belief that it was the King himself who prevented Anne Boleyn from marrying Henry Percy due to his infatuation of her but this could not be further from the truth. It was only from 1526 that we know of Henry’s infatuation with Anne Boleyn whilst this betrothal occurred in 1523, three years earlier and before Henry first really notices Anne as a potential lover. It was actually Cardinal Wolsey as well as the fathers of Anne and Henry who put a stop to the marriage—Cardinal Wolsey was not a man to anger and so when he informed Henry Percy’s father, he too scolded his son for his actions: “thou hast always been a proud, presumptuous, and unthrift waster.”
Henry’s father was strongly against Anne Boleyn marrying his son for one reason only; in comparison to Mary Talbot who was the daughter of a respected earl, he considered Anne Boleyn as a mere knight’s daughter, as Thomas Boleyn had yet to receive the many luxurious titles and lands granted to him by the King upon his infatuation with Anne, and deemed her an inappropriate fit for his son. His family needed heirs of respectability and influence, not social climbers as the Boleyns were seen to be.
Indeed, Thomas Boleyn himself also disapproved the match because, whilst Henry Percy was the heir to the earldom of Northumberland, his family was not a wealthy one and he was still interested in securing the earldom of Ormond for his family with Anne’s potential marriage to James Butler.
Ultimately, the marriage would have only benefitted Henry and Anne which, to everyone but the young couple, was simply not a good reason. Both had better marriage prospects and so, the marriage was abruptly stopped.
As punishment for their actions, Henry Percy was told that he would never see or speak to Anne Boleyn ever again and would marry Mary Talbot as planned. As for Anne, she was briefly removed from court and sent back to her family’s home, Hever Castle, in Kent. It is possible that Henry Percy left the service of Cardinal Wolsey at this point but we do not know for sure. Anne was a lady-in-waiting to Henry VIII’s first wife, Catalina de Aragon, at this point so it would have been shameful for her to remain in her service until the drama had died down. At least she would have a place at court still after all of this but at what cost?
Both would have been heartbroken at this forced separation and the knowledge that their love would most likely die now that greater forces than themselves had stepped in. And Anne Boleyn would forever hold a grudge against Cardinal Wolsey who never allowed her to marry the man she truly wanted, even when he was doing his best to have the King’s first marriage dissolved so she could become the next Queen of England.
Whilst we know that Anne Boleyn finds an even greater match than both James Butler and Henry Percy by attracting the King of England himself, though this attention was unwanted during the first years of Henry’s courtship of her but grew to love her husband and her daughter would become one of England’s greatest monarchs, the same cannot be said for Henry Percy.
. . .
As his father wished, Henry Percy was forced to marry his betrothed, Lady Mary Talbot who had most likely heard of her intended’s unhappiness in not marrying Anne Boleyn. The exact date for their marriage is unknown and whilst historians estimate it took place between early 1524 and late 1526, historian David Starkey dated August 1525 or August 1526 as the two possible years the couple were wed. Many historians agree that, due to the scandal Henry and Anne caused, the marriage quickly took place within months and so 1524 is the preferred year for their marriage. And the marriage was not a happy one, right from the very start.
Henry Percy was still disgruntled that he had been forced to marry a woman he did not love and both his father and Cardinal Wolsey wanted to keep a tight leash on him since he had disobeyed them once before. It did not help that the young couple had little in regards to income or comfort within their own home, especially when Cardinal Wolsey attempted installing some of his own servants in the couple’s new household as a means of controlling the unpredictable Henry Percy. Whilst Lady Mary Talbot would have undoubtedly gone ahead with the marriage regardless of her own feelings and out of duty to her father, it did not mean that she would not have made her unhappiness apparent to her new husband. After all, how would you feel if you knew you were your husband’s second and reluctant choice for a wife?
I would have been pretty devastated if that had been me.
In 1527, Henry Percy’s father, also Henry Percy, died at fifty-years-old and so he inherited the earldom to become the 6th Earl of Northumberland. With this, his wife Mary Talbot now became the Countess of Northumberland. At the same time, King Henry VIII’s infatuation and affair with Lady Anne Boleyn, although she was not an official mistress due to the technicality that she never slept with him until they were officially betrothed, had become public and the entire kingdom was aware that Lady Anne Boleyn and her family would now receive luxurious grants, titles, and influence from the King due to his relationship with Anne.
Whilst there is no record of what the new Countess of Northumberland thought of her husband’s former love causing a scandal with the King of England but its not difficult to imagine that she most likely did not like Anne Boleyn in the slightest. Not only was she the woman who tried to steal her husband from her but now she was trying to steal the King from the rightful Queen, as many believed Catalina de Aragon to be the King’s lawful wife. For many within England, Lady Anne was just another Boleyn family member trying to climb the social ladder and causing scandal after scandal seemed to be just another of her life choices. The Boleyn family were not much liked in England, that much was known—even members of the King’s family, including both of his sisters, did not approve of the divorce and even spoke out against Anne to some degree but as Dowager Queens, both were excluded from punishment.
Both Henry Percy and Mary Talbot are known to have disliked one another from the very start of their marriage, however they must have both wished to put their best foot forward and make their marriage work as both their families depended on it. Regardless of their personal feelings for each other, their duty within their marriage was to produce an heir to inherit all of Henry’s lands, titles, and wealth, otherwise it may cause conflict with distant relations claiming the earldom was theirs.
Sadly, as mentioned before, their marriage was an unhappy one and within only four years of their marriage, records show their relationship had broken down irretrievably by 1528 with both Henry and Mary complaining about their spouse. For Henry, he suspected that her wife was spying on him and reporting all his words and actions to her father. Ironically, Mary’s father is reported for having concerns that Henry was abusing his daughter and worried his son-in-law might even poison his daughter to be rid of her. It is worth noting that Anne Boleyn, although she was being courted by the King, was still available at this time and perhaps Mary’s father believed he wanted to poison Mary to marry Anne.
Henry Percy was so enraged upon hearing his father-in-law’s accusations that he refused permission for him or his servants to visit or even communicate with his wife, effectively cutting off Mary’s contact with her father. Not exactly the best move when you have been accused of abuse but anger does many things to a person.
Unfortunately, this was only the start of Henry’s anger coming out; after hearing that Mary’s brother-in-law, Lord Dacre, had begged Mary’s father to defend his daughter against her husband, Henry became so furious at the situation that he vowed to never again see his wife for as long as he lived—and whilst the couple did officially separate, it is believed to have only been temporary as Mary is believed to have delivered a stillborn child at her father’s estate in April 1529, which nearly killed Mary in the process, as she had moved there during the separation.
When Cardinal Wolsey heard of the couple’s problems, he himself persuaded Mary to return to her husband after the stillbirth although she herself was now accusing her husband of potentially trying to poison her upon her return. The Cardinal’s interference, as Henry deemed it, only further confirmed his suspicions that his wife was a spy of her father’s and of the cardinal’s as why else would he advise his unhappy wife to return to him?
It did not help that Percy had surrendered the responsibility of managing his estates and finances to his former employer, Cardinal Wolsey, after stating he was “sick in mind and body” because of the whole ordeal which had left him in deep debt to the Crown. This might have suggested he was suffering from depression and possibly suffered physical ailments because of the stress his marriage was putting him under. Because at this point in 1529, he had not yet secured a living male heir with his wife and, sorry to say, it was never going to happen if his wife was accusing him of trying to poison her.
Even after the death of Cardinal Wolsey in 1530 following his arrest on the charge of treason—which came about after the King decided the Cardinal was not doing everything, he could to secure his divorce from Catalina de Aragon so he could marry Anne Boleyn and it was Henry Percy himself who arrested the cardinal—and prior to his official trial, nothing and no-one could help improve the relationship between Henry and his wife.
There was no going back from that and, sadly, things only worsened for Henry.
. . .
As an attempt to escape her horrible marriage, Mary Talbot sought an annulment of her marriage to Henry Percy on the grounds that Henry Percy had a precontract with Anne Boleyn, making their marriage invalid. This came about when Mary had once again escaped to her father’s estates after quarrelling with Henry. According to her, he mentioned that he had wished to marry Anne Boleyn and not her which Mary took as an admission of proof that a pre-contract had existed between Henry and Anne. Whether Mary truly believed this or not can be debated but she was positive that this admission was enough to end this detestable marriage once and for all.
Mary’s father discussed this quarrel with Thomas Howard, the 3rd Duke of Norfolk and uncle to Anne Boleyn, who, naturally, repeated the disturbing admission to his niece. At this point, Anne was close to becoming the second wife and Queen of Henry VIII and if Mary Talbot accused her of being pre-contracted to Henry Percy, it would prevent the marriage from going forward and this was something neither she or the King wanted.
Taking matters into her own hands to preserve her reputation and dignity, Anne herself ordered an inquiry into this matter with the King’s permission. Henry Percy was summoned before the council where the Archbishop of Canterbury questioned him on whether he was pre-contracted to Anne. Henry, of course, passionately denied his wife’s accusations and stated that he had never been pre-contracted to Anne Boleyn by swearing on the sacrament—something that was not to be taken lightly in a heavily religious Tudor England.
Thankfully for Anne, the council believed Henry and it was determined that his marriage to Mary Talbot was valid, much to Mary’s shock and horror.
Historians have debated over the years whether it was possible that Henry Percy had lied about being pre-contracted to Anne when he married Mary Talbot. There have been historians who argue that he lied about the pre-contract so that Anne could still marry the King, sacrificing his own happiness, so the woman he loved’s reputation would not be damaged. Some believe that he was telling the truth and that the couple might have had an understanding between one another that one day they would marry, rather than becoming betrothed. It is possible that they were hoping to break off the pre-contract between Henry and Mary so that they could become betrothed but I truly believe they never actually said anything that could be taken as the couple declaring they wished to wed. They were both intelligent young people who had been trained in the art of courtly manners and so, I believe that Henry and Anne knew they wanted to marry but were aware there were obstacles that might prevent them from doing so.
Following this, the couple continued to live together until around 1534 when Mary, once again, escaped to her father’s estate, only this time she would remain there and we know this because her father noted in 1536 that his daughter had been there for two and a half years, meaning sometime during early 1534. And in 1535, with the knowledge that he would get no heirs from his wife nor was a second marriage possible, Henry Percy wrote to Thomas Cromwell, the King’s new chief minister, that he wished to make the King his heir to the earldom upon his death and this was confirmed later. What is interesting is that Henry did have possible male heirs to his earldom—his younger brothers; Sir Thomas Percy and Sir Ingelram Percy who were both only a few years younger and both participated in the Pilgrimage of Grace.
For whatever reason, Henry Percy estranged himself from his brothers and did not want them to inherit his titles and properties—maybe jealousy or that if the King possessed them, it meant his brothers wouldn’t best him in being the Earl of Northumberland?
It is hard to say, really.
For a moment in early 1536, Henry must have felt like things were finally positive for once when he was created Lord President of the Council of the North as well as vicegerent of the Order of the Garter—a very prestigious honour to be bestowed.
However, as history tells us, this year would be a very tragic, dark, and traumatic one for not only Henry but his love, Anne Boleyn.
. . .
Despite the love King Henry once professed for his second wife, their marriage was a disaster bound to happen. Although Anne had given birth to a beautiful, healthy daughter called Elizabeth, her subsequent pregnancies ended tragically and did not provide the King with the son and heir he desired. Wanting to cast Anne aside for his new love Jane Seymour after only three years of marriage, Anne Boleyn was cruelly and falsely charged with adultery with four men, as well as incest with her brother George, and treason.
Poor Henry Percy was summoned to act as a juror in her trial, which ultimately was all for show as it was obvious that Anne was doomed from the start. Henry was forced to watch Anne’s trial where his former love was accused of the most horrific crimes a Queen could commit, knowing that she was indeed innocent. You can just imagine the pain and hurt that Henry must have felt and shown in his face as he watched Anne’s reputation be torn to shred by her enemies, including her powerful uncle who hated her.
When the verdict had to be delivered, it is recorded that when Henry Percy spoke the verdict of ‘guilty’ and Anne was convicted, he collapsed suddenly and had to be carried away from the court. Whether it was due to his poor health or pain over seeing his former love doomed to die, who can say?
However, the ordeal was not over as Henry Percy would be forced for a second time to be interrogated in relation to the pre-contract that many believed existed between him and Anne. As he had before, he denied all existence of a pre-contract between them in a written statement addressed to Thomas Cromwell:
I perceave by Sir Reginald Carneby that ther is a supposed Pre-contract between the Queen and me. Wherfor I was not only examined upon my othe before the Archbishoppes of Canterburie and York, but also reccaved the blessed Sacrament upon the sayme, before the Duke of Norfolk, and others of the Kynges hignes Council learned in spiritual law; assuring you, Mr. Secretary, by the said othe and bessed bodye, which affore I receaved, and herafter entend to receave, that the same may be to my damnation if there were any contract or promise of marriage betweane her and me.
At Newingtone Grene, the XII daye of May, in the 28th year of the reigne of our Soveraigne Lord, King Henry the VIII. Your assured NORTHUMBERLAND [1].
But the King wanted to have his marriage to Anne annulled as if it had never happened and a confession that Henry Percy was pre-contracted to Anne would secure that. Interestingly, if you think about it; Anne could not have been guilty of adultery if her marriage to the King was not valid but I suppose no one was able to spot this as they were too busy trying to give the King what he wanted.
It is said that Anne confessed to a pre-contract with Henry Percy in the hopes that the King would spare her life and perhaps send her to a nunnery rather than execute her. Sadly, if this was true, it did nothing to spare the ill-fated Queen.
Queen Anne Boleyn’s marriage to the King was annulled on the 17th May, the day that her brother and four other innocent men were condemned to death. Just two days later, the Queen herself was led to the scaffold and was beheaded with a single stroke of the sword by a skilled executioner from France.
Was her first love watching her from the crowd? Did he weep at the news of her death? Did he wish he could have protected her?
We can only assume her death would have been too painful for him to watch.
. . .
Following the execution of Anne Boleyn on 19th May, the King would marry for a third time to her cousin Jane Seymour just eleven days later on 30th May 1536 and the King was hopeful his new bride would provide him with the heir he required.
There is a belief that Henry Percy wished to pass his earldom to either of his two brothers but with their involvement in the Pilgrimage of Grace meant that they were traitors and they could not inherit the earldom. Whether this is true or not, we do not know.
It seemed that his brothers suffered the same ill-fated ends as his beloved had. His brother Sir Thomas Percy was executed for treason on 2nd June 1537 whilst his brother Sir Ingelram Percy died whilst imprisoned in the Tower of London sometime during 1538. As a result of this, Henry made a grant to the King of his estates, meaning the King would now possess them, on the condition that they pass to his nephew, Thomas Percy, named after his father. However, at some point after his brother’s execution, the condition was made unconditional although his nephew would indeed inherit the title sometime after his death.
Sadly, Henry Percy did not live much longer than his first love as he would die on 29th June 1537, after having been found yellow and distended by Richard Layton. He would be buried at St Augustin’s Church which is now the site of St Joh at the parish church in Hackney.
It might have been ill-health that caused the untimely death of Henry Percy but one does have to wonder if the execution of his beloved had an impact on the last year of his life. I would like to think that Henry Percy embraced death when it came for him as it would allow him to be reunited with Anne in death, far away from the deadly reach of King Henry VIII.
If only fate had allowed them to be together, so much death and misery might have been prevented.
Until next time!
- Have a ‘Tudor-fic’ week!
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