In 1292, Warkworth was considered grand and safe enough for the English King Edward I to visit and it was garrisoned with troops during the Anglo-Scottish wars. The financial upkeep was shared between the family, who had by then taken the name Clavering, and the King, who gained full control over the land and castle when the Claverings died out in 1332. In 1327, the castle had been besieged twice by the Scots and with its important strategic position, King Edward II in London granted it to the influential Percy family, to provide a full-time defence against the Scots. The Percys already held the nearby castle of Alnwick and the family, who became effective royalty in Northumberland, lived and built at both properties