page_title: Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland
section_title: Marriage to Mary Talbot
hierarchical_section_title: Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland / Marriage to Mary Talbot
caption_attribution_description: English: 17th century stained glass escutcheon showing arms of Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland (c.1502-1537), KG, (with 16 quarters) impaling Talbot (with 9 quarters), paternal arms of his wife. Detail from Percy Window, Petworth House, Sussex
context_page_description: Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland, KG 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 and later married King Henry VIII.
context_section_description: Percy's father reportedly scolded him, saying "thou hast always been a proud, presumptuous, and unthrift waster," and he was quickly and unhappily married to Lady Mary Talbot, daughter of the Earl of Shrewsbury, by early 1524 or in 1525, with earlier legal stages. Starkey dates it at August 1525 or August 1526. The old earl allowed the couple little in the way of comforts or income. Wolsey attempted to insinuate his own servants into the household as a means of controlling the young Henry.
  By 1528, only four years into their marriage, the couple's relationship had broken down irretrievably. Northumberland suspected his wife of spying on him for Norfolk, while her father worried that the young husband was abusing her and might even poison her. Northumberland was outraged at Shrewsbury's suspicions and refused to permit his father-in-law's servants to see or speak to his wife. When the countess's brother-in-law, William, Lord Dacre, asked the Duke of Norfolk to defend her, Northumberland told Norfolk that he, Northumberland, would never see her again as long as he lived. The couple may have separated shortly thereafter, at least temporarily, since Mary delivered a stillborn child at her father's home in April 1529. In 1532, Mary accused her husband of a precontract (i.e. betrothal with legal force) with Anne Boleyn. She confided her alleged grievance to her father, who then mentioned the matter to Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk. Anne Boleyn, consulted, ordered an inquiry. Northumberland denied the accusation on oath.
  In 1536 Shrewsbury noted his daughter had been living with him for two and half years. At about the same time, Northumberland announced that he was bequeathing his entire inheritance to the King since he had no children, and he and his wife were not likely to have a legitimate heir. He was by then also estranged from his brothers, and did not want them to inherit his property. Mary Talbot hated Henry heartily for the rest of his short life, and later sought a divorce.
caption: 17th century stained glass escutcheon showing arms of Henry Percy, 6th Earl of Northumberland (c.1502–1537), KG, (with 16 quarters) impaling Talbot (with 9 quarters), paternal arms of his wife, all circumscribed by the Garter. Detail from Percy Window, Petworth House, Sussex
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