The wreckage of Percy's early romance followed him into total dynastic ruin. Broken by failing health, chronic debt, and royal suspicion, the 6th Earl became a tragic figure in northern politics. When the 1536 Catholic uprising known as the Pilgrimage of Grace erupted across Yorkshire and Northumberland, Percy’s brothers joined the rebels, but the Earl refused to back them, remaining isolated behind the walls of his castle.
His brother Sir Thomas Percy was subsequently executed at Tyburn for treason, tainting the family line. With no legitimate heirs and his relationships severed, the 6th Earl made a radical concession. He signed away the entire Northumberland inheritance directly to King Henry VIII, bypassing his surviving relatives and handing ancient Percy properties, including Alnwick Castle, to the Crown.
Percy died in June 1537 at the age of roughly 35, impoverished and abandoned in Hackney. His sacrifice during the precontract inquiry saved him from the executioner's block, but it failed to preserve his estate or family lineage. The earldom lay dormant until Queen Mary I restored it to his nephew two decades later.
