Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland

Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland (25 July 1421 – 29 March 1461) was the son of Henry Percy, 2nd Earl of Northumberland and Lady Eleanor Neville, daughter of Ralph Neville, 1st Earl of Westmorland and his second wife Joan Beaufort.

Family
His maternal uncles included Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury. His maternal aunts included Cecily Neville, through whom he was closely related to the House of York: Edward IV of England, Margaret of York, George, Duke of Clarence and Richard III of England were all first cousins.

Marriage
In consequence of his marriage to Eleanor, Lady Poynings, Henry Percy was summoned to Parliament from 14 December 1446 to 26 May 1455, by writs directed Henrico de Percy, chivaler, domino de Ponynges. His wife was a legatee in the 1455 will of her mother, Eleanor, Countess of Arundel (widow of the thirteenth Earl of Arundel).

Life
In 1448, Percy was captured following his father's defeat at the Battle of Sark. During the Wars of the Roses, Percy followed his father in siding with the Lancastrians against the Yorkists. On 30 December 1460, Percy is known to have fought on the Lancastrian side at the Battle of Wakefield. He commanded the Lancastrian van at the Battle of Towton on 29 March 1461, in which he was slain fighting. He was buried at St Denys's Church, York. His widow, Eleanor, died on 11 February 1483 or 1484.

Marriage and children
He married, on or before 25 June 1435, Eleanor Poynings (c.1422 – 11 February 1484), de jure suo jure Lady Poynings, daughter and heiress of Sir Richard Poynings of Poynings, Sussex, by his second wife, Eleanor Berkeley, daughter of Sir John Berkeley of Beverston Castle, Gloucestershire. She was heir general in 1446 to her grandfather, Robert Poynings, 4th Baron Poynings. They had one son and three daughters:


 * Henry Percy, 4th Earl of Northumberland (c.1449 – 28 April 1489), who married Maud Herbert, daughter of the first Earl of Pembroke.


 * Eleanor Percy (b. 1455),, who married Thomas West, 8th Baron De La Warr.


 * Margaret Percy (b. c. 1447),, who married Sir William Gascoigne, "the Younger", son of Sir William Gascoigne and wife.


 * Elizabeth Percy (1460–1512), who married Henry Scrope, 6th Baron Scrope of Bolton.

Henry Percy, 3rd Earl of Northumberland is a direct ancestor of George Washington.