ABSTRACT
Lady Elizabeth Percy, known as ‘Kate’ (1371–c.1444) is the wife of the fiery, gallant (sometimes vain, impulsive and foolish) Henry Percy (Hotspur). The Percy family had helped Henry IV seize the throne from Richard II, but they harbour a simmering resentment against Henry for his apparent ingratitude for that help. This resentment boils over through a series of disputes and pushes Hotspur to contemplate open rebellion. She has just walked in on him reading a letter and he has just said to her, ‘How now, Kate? I must leave you within these two hours/As the dialogue that follows this speech shows (and in Act 3, Scene 1), she is a spirited character and there generally seems to be a strong, sparky relationship between them.
