Thomas Percy, Earl of Worcester, KG (1343 – 23 July 1403) was an English medieval nobleman and naval commander best known for leading the rebellion with his nephew Henry Percy, known as 'Harry Hotspur', and his elder brother, Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland.
He was the younger son of Henry de Percy, 3rd Baron Percy, and Mary, daughter of Henry, 3rd Earl of Lancaster, who in turn was a grandson of Henry III of England. He was the younger brother of Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland. Percy never married nor had children.
Worcester fought against England's traditional enemy France in the Hundred Years' War, and then served in various important governing posts in English-controlled France, as Ambassador, Seneschal. He was appointed Admiral of the North from 26 January 1384 to 22 February 1385. In the 1390s he built Wressle Castle. He was created Earl of Worcester in 1397 by King Richard II. In 1399 he was appointed Admiral of the Kings Fleet in Ireland.
Along with his brother and nephew, he took part in Henry IV's deposition of Richard II. He is said to have broken the staff of office symbolizing his position as Richard II's steward when declaring for the revolt. Later, in turn, he took part in the Percies' own subsequent rebellion against King Henry IV. He is said to have negotiated with Henry IV before the Battle of Shrewsbury and then misrepresented King Henry's offer for a settlement to persuade his nephew Henry "Hotspur" to reject the offer and fight the battle.
He was captured at the Battle of Shrewsbury and publicly beheaded in Shrewsbury two days later, on 23 July 1403. He was buried in St. Peter's, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. His head was displayed in London on London Bridge.
He appears in Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1 as the main plotter of the 1403 rebellion.
Lee, Sidney, ed. (1895). "Percy, Thomas (died 1403)" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 44. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
Emery, Anthony (1996), Greater Medieval Houses of England and Wales: Volume I Northern England, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 9780521497237
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Worcester, Earls and Marquesses of" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 820.