- "I have hardly thought about writing my diary. With Michel here, I am not lonely, so I haven't felt the same need to use the blank pages as a substitute for someone to talk to. And on the best day of my life I was too busy living it to think of writing about it. We were married here in the chapel at Windsor, and Catherine came, together with dozens of courtiers both English and Spanish."
- —Eva De Puebla[2]
Eva Valjean (née De Puebla; born 10 June 1486) was the daughter of Anna and Don De Puebla. In 1501, Eva accompanied her childhood friend Catherine of Aragon to England as a translator. After Catherine became Queen of England in 1509, she put Eva in charge of the court's embroidery work. The same year, Eva married Michel Valjean.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Eva was born on 10 June 1486[1] to Anna and Don De Puebla. She became friends with Catherine of Aragon at a young age. Queen Isabella believed Eva was a good influence on Catherine because of their economic differences as well as differing personalities. The whole De Puebla family converted from Judaism to Catholicism, presumably because of the Spanish Inquisition.
1501 – 1513[]
In August 1501, Eva sailed to England to accompany Catherine as her English translator and lady-in-waiting. Catherine married Prince Arthur within two weeks of their arrival. Eva's great-uncle Rodrigo De Puebla, whom was Spain's ambassador to England, had helped arrange the marriage. Catherine's servants, including Eva, accompanied her to Arthur's castle in Ludlow, where they stayed for several months. In early 1502, Arthur and Catherine fell deathly ill with the sweating sickness while Eva appeared to have a mild case of it. After Arthur passed away, Catherine recovered and later insisted on staying in England. Eva and her other servants accompanied her to her new residence, Durham House, in London.
The conditions of Durham House were particularly bad, especially since King Henry VII refused to give Catherine an allowance. She was unable to pay Eva and the others for months on end. Catherine became determined to marry Prince Harry, Arthur's younger brother and now heir apparent. Eva's uncle was eventually able to help arrange the marriage agreement. Unfortunately, two years later, the betrothal was called off, putting Catherine in a bad position at court once again. Eva and the others cope with the poor conditions again. Meanwhile, Catherine's sister Juana and her husband Philip paid a visit to the court. Eva met a charming court jester named Michel Valjean during the festivities. They kept in touch over letters.
In April 1509, Eva's uncle Rodrigo passed away which deeply saddened her. The same month, King Henry VII died, allowing for Catherine and Harry (now known as Henry VIII) to finally marry. In July 1509, Michel arrived at court and proposed to Eva. They received permission from Catherine and Henry to marry the following September. Michel became Henry's favorite court jester. Catherine appointed Eva to be the supervisor of the court's embroidery work, while still being her lady-in-waiting. On August 13, 1510, Eva gave birth to her first child, a girl named Rosanna. By September 1513, Eva was expecting her second child. She supported Catherine through her child-bearing issues.
Interim[]
On February 20, 1514, Eva gave birth to her second daughter, Elinor.[3] Sometime after Elinor's birth, Eva had her first son whom died of unknown causes before reaching the age of one. Eva later had her sons, Daniel in 1518 and William in 1521. She and her husband continued to serve at court.
1525 – 1536[]
Eva's second daughter Elinor
By 1525, Eva's daughter Rosanna joined Catherine's household as a lady-in-waiting. Elinor joined two years later when she was thirteen. In 1528, Eva's husband Michel passed away from the sweating sickness. She also became sick but recovered. Later the same year, Elinor was ordered to be a lady-in-waiting for Anne Boleyn, whom King Henry had become infatuated with and desired to marry. Rosanna and her husband, Diego Luiz de Frontera, stayed in Catherine's household with Eva. In 1530, Elinor married Tom Freeman. Eva was blessed with three grandchildren over the following years, Rosanna's John in 1530, Elinor's Michael in 1532 and Maria in 1534.
King Henry separated from Catherine in 1531. Eva was among her staff allowed to stay with her. Catherine's household were moved from one small, drafty house to the next for several years. Eva stayed with Catherine until her death from illness in January 1536. Eva reluctantly moved back to court to live with Elinor and her family. She refused to do any work directly for Henry's second wife Anne, but would do so for Anne's daughter Elizabeth. Despite never liking Anne, Eva was disturbed when she was executed on "trumped-up charges" later the same year. Afterwards, Eva left court with Elinor, her family, and her son Daniel to live in a cottage in the countryside.
1536 – 1548[]
Beatrice, Eva's daughter-in-law
After moving, Eva and Elinor became acquainted with Beatrice Townhill, whose family owned the house they were renting. Beatrice often came to their house to escape her governess, Agnes. One day, Eva and Elinor allowed Beatrice to borrow their diaries. Eva taught her Spanish so she would be able to read hers. Later that year, Elinor gave birth to Eva's fourth grandchildren, Isabella, named after Catherine of Aragon's mother. In February 1539, Eva and Elinor informally adopted Beatrice into their family when her parents passed away.
Beatrice lived with them for some time, before becoming a court lady. She continued visiting Eva and Elinor as often as she could. On Easter Day in 1542, Beatrice married Eva's youngest son, William. After the wedding, they invited Eva with Elinor and her family to move into Beatrice's childhood home near their old cottage. Eva's son, Daniel was the last of her children to marry; he wed a girl named Alice in September 1542. Beatrice gave Eva two more grandchildren, Joanna and Rodrigo, the latter was named after Eva's great-uncle. Later, Beatrice and Will left court and presumably came back to live with their family.
Personality and traits[]
Eva inherited her "bookishness and love of learning" from her father. She was able to speak Spanish, Latin, and English, and originally came to England to serve as Catherine's interpreter. Eva was particularly adept at embroidery, which she learned from her mother, the chief embroideress at the Spanish court. As an adult, Catherine put her in charge of all the embroidery work for the English court. Eva was also noted for her kindness and loyalty. She was very family-oriented as well.
Family tree[]
(including De Puebla and Townhill relatives)
| Rodrigo De Puebla (d. 1509) | Unknown | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bianca De Puebla | Gonsalvo De Puebla | Don De Puebla (d. 1498) | Anna De Puebla | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Miguel De Puebla | Eva De Puebla (b. 1486) | Michel Valjean (d. 1528) | Mr Townhill (d. 1539) | Mrs Townhill (d. 1539) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rosanna Valjean (b. 1510) | Diego Luiz de Frontera | Elinor Valjean (b. 1514) | Tom Freeman | Daniel Valjean (b. 1518) | Alice Valjean | William Valjean (b. 1521) | Beatrice Townhill (b. 1526) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| John de Frontera (b. 1530) | Michael Freeman (b. 1532) | Maria Freeman (b. 1534) | Isabella Freeman (b. 1537) | Joanna Valjean (b. 1544) | Rodrigo Valjean (b. 1547) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Behind the scenes[]
- Eva is the main character of Alison Prince's My Tudor Queen, and a supporting character in Anne Boleyn and Me and Henry VIII's Wives.
Appearances[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 My Tudor Queen, Alison Prince, page 11
- ↑ My Tudor Queen, Alison Prince, page 120
- ↑ Anne Boleyn and Me, Alison Prince, page 22
See also[]