 thumb|243px|arms of sir henry percy, 6th earl of northumberland, kg henry percy, 6th earl of northumberland, kg (c. 1502 &ndash; 1537) was an english nobleman, active as a military officer in the north. he is now primarily remembered as the betrothed of anne boleyn, whom he was forced to give up before she became involved with king henry viii. ==early life== henry was born about 1502,karen lindsey, divorced, beheaded, survived, xvii, perseus books, 1995 and sent, when quite young, to be a page in thomas wolsey's household. the principal source for the early passages of percy's life is the biography of wolsey by george cavendish.ives, p. 63. he was knighted in 1519. he was eldest son of henry algernon percy, 5th earl of northumberland, by catherine, daughter of sir robert spencer. through his mother he was a cousin of william carey who was the brother in law to anne boleyn. ==involvement with anne boleyn== though his father had destined him by 1516 for the daughter of george talbot, 4th earl of shrewsbury, he fell in love with anne boleyn, then a young lady about the court. the intrigue was soon discovered, and the earl of northumberland sent for young lord percy. cardinal thomas wolsey himself scolded the young man and lord percy gave way. this story in outline is not disputed, but details are still contentious. percy became betrothed to anne probably in the spring of 1523, when he was still page to wolsey. on hearing the news, wolsey scolded lord percy before his household, since permission for the marriage had not been sought from his father nor from the king, who had an interest due to the importance of the northumberland earldom. while cavendish claimed that the king already had a personal interest in anne at this point, driving wolsey's angry reaction, this has been debated.david starkey, six wives: the queens of henry viii, p.xxii. starkey believes the story to be true. a current suggestion as to a serious obstacle, as well as the proposed talbot match, is that anne was at this point intended (by wolsey) to wed james butler, 9th earl of ormond, son of piers butler, 8th earl of ormond, to manage and resolve a dispute over the earldom of ormond involving [[si
1502_births 1537_deaths 16th-century_English_people Earls_in_the_Peerage_of_England Earls_of_Northumberland High_Sheriffs_of_Northumberland Knights_of_the_Garter People_of_the_Tudor_period Percy_family