Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland, KG (27 April 1564 – 5 November 1632) was an English nobleman. He was a grandee and one of the wealthiest peers of the court of Elizabeth I. Under James I, Northumberland was a long-term prisoner in the Tower of London, due to the suspicion that he was complicit in the Gunpowder Plot. He is known for the circles he moved in as well as for his own achievements. He acquired the sobriquet The Wizard Earl (also given to Gerald FitzGerald, 11th Earl of Kildare), from his scientific and alchemical experiments, his passion for cartography, and his large library.
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Early life and marriage
He was born at Tynemouth Castle in Northumberland, the son of Henry Percy, 8th Earl of Northumberland, whom he succeeded in 1585. His father died, an apparent suicide, in the Tower of London, where he was being questioned about his allegedly treasonable dealings with Mary, Queen of Scots. His mother was Katherine Neville, daughter and co-heiress of John Neville, 4th Baron Latimer and Lucy Somerset. She remarried Francis Fitton of Binfield.
He was brought up a Protestant, as his father had been, taking instruction from the vicar of Egremont. This did not prevent suspicions in later life, particularly when he associated with Charles Paget, that he was a crypto-Catholic. Around 1586, he first employed the artist Nicolas Hilliard, paying 60 shillings for his portrait. In 1598 he bought a jewel called the "Rainbow" for £21 from John Spilman. The earl had an African servant who was called the "Blackamore" in his accounts. This servant was brought to the earl in 1586 by Mr Crosse's servant, who was rewarded with 20 shillings, and the earl bought new clothes for the African servant costing £6-12s-6d. New shoes in 1588 cost 18 pence.