Lady Evelyn Beauchamp

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Lady Evelyn Beauchamp
Lady Evelyn in 1923
Born
Evelyn Leonora Almina Herbert

(1901-08-15)15 August 1901
Highclere Castle, Hampshire, England
Died31 January 1980(1980-01-31) (aged 78)
London, England
Known forPresent at the opening of Tutankhamun's tomb
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1923; d. 1976)​
Children1

Lady Evelyn Leonora Almina Beauchamp (/ˈbiːtʃəm/ BEE-chəm; née Herbert; 15 August 1901 – 31 January 1980), always known to her family as Eve,[1] was the daughter of George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon. In November 1922, she, her father, and the archaeologist Howard Carter were the first people in modern times to enter the tomb of the Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun. She later married Sir Brograve Beauchamp and had a daughter. Lady Evelyn died in 1980, at the age of 78.

Early life[edit]

Lady Evelyn Leonora Almina Herbert was born on 15 August 1901, the second child and only daughter of George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon and Almina Herbert, Countess of Carnarvon. Her older brother was Henry Herbert, 6th Earl of Carnarvon.[2]

Her childhood was spent mainly at Highclere Castle, the family's country house in Hampshire. Looked after by a nanny and a governess, she and her brother were seldom in the company of her parents.[3] As Evelyn grew older she however became closer to her father, her brother observing that she became "the apple of my father's eye – he worshipped her and they were the closest of friends until he died. She had a great influence of good on him and healed many a breach between my father and mother which no-one else could have achieved".[4] She took an interest in her father's Egyptian explorations,[5] and from 1921 she accompanied him on his annual visit to Egypt.[6] While journeying to Egypt in January 1923, the journalist Valentine Williams noted "the tender friendship" between father and daughter that was "delightful to watch",[7] while Howard Carter referred to Evelyn as her father's "devoted companion in all his Egyptian work".[8]

Lady Evelyn was launched as a debutante and presented at court in 1920,[9] with her mother staging receptions for her, including at the British Residency in Cairo during their Egyptian stays in 1921 and 1922. It was during one of these receptions that she met her future husband, Brograve Beauchamp, the son of the Liberal MP Sir Edward Beauchamp, who continued to visit her when they both returned to England.[6]

Lord Carnarvon, Lady Evelyn Herbert and Howard Carter at the top of the steps leading to the newly discovered tomb of Tutankhamun, November 1922.[10]

Tutankhamun's Tomb[edit]

Main article: Discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun

Lord and Lady Carnarvon often spent the winter in Egypt, where they bought antiquities for their collection in England. In 1906 Lord Carnarvon obtained a concession to excavate sites near Luxor. From 1907, he employed Howard Carter to supervise this work including, from 1914, a systematic search of the Valley of the Kings for any tombs missed by previous expeditions, in particular that of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun.[11] By 1922 little of significance had been found and Lord Carnarvon decided this would be the final year he would fund the work.[12]

However, on 4 November 1922, Carter was able to send a telegram to Lord Carnarvon, in England at the time, saying:
"At last have made wonderful discovery in Valley; a magnificent tomb with seals intact; re-covered same for your arrival; congratulations".[11]

Lady Evelyn accompanied her father to Egypt, and arrived at Luxor on 23 November 1922.[13] Both were present the next day when the full extent of the stairway to the tomb was cleared and a seal containing Tutankhamun's cartouche found on the outer doorway. This door was removed and the rubble filled corridor behind cleared, revealing the door of the tomb itself.[14] Lady Evelyn was also present when, on 26 November, Carter made a tiny breach in the top left hand corner of the tomb doorway, enabling him to peer in by the light of a candle. When Carnarvon asked, "Can you see anything?" Carter replied "Yes, wonderful things!". The tomb was then secured, to be entered in the presence of an official of the Egyptian Department of Antiquities the next day.[15]

However that night, Carter, his assistant Arthur Callender, Carnarvon and Lady Evelyn apparently made an unauthorised visit, becoming the first people in modern times to enter the tomb.[16][17][18] Some sources suggest that the group also entered the inner burial chamber.[19] In this account, a small hole was found in the chamber's sealed doorway and Carter, Carnarvon and Lady Evelyn crawled through.[18] The diary of Lord Carnarvon's half-brother Mervyn Herbert notes that Evelyn told him that the group entered the 'second chamber',[20] and that Evelyn, being the smallest, was the first to enter the burial chamber.[18]

The next morning, the 27 November, saw an inspection of the tomb in the presence of an Egyptian official. Callender rigged up electric lighting, illuminating a vast haul of items, including gilded couches, chests, thrones, and shrines. They also saw evidence of two further chambers, including the sealed doorway to the inner burial chamber, guarded by two life-size statues of Tutankhamun.[21][22] In spite of evidence of break-ins in ancient times, the tomb was virtually intact, and would ultimately be found to contain over 5,000 items.

On 29 November the tomb was officially opened in the presence of a number of invited dignitaries and Egyptian officials, with Evelyn arranging a luncheon party afterwards for the guests.[23]

Lady Evelyn and her father travelled to England in December 1922, the two returning in January 1923 to be present at the official opening of the inner burial chamber on 16 February.[24] The same month Brograve Beauchamp visited with his parents, Howard Carter providing a tour of Tutankhamun's Tomb.[6] Soon afterwards Lord Carnarvon contracted blood poisoning and, after travelling to Cairo with Evelyn, he died on 5 April 1923.[25] Lady Evelyn left Egypt to return to England with her brother, Lady Carnarvon following with Lord Carnarvon's remains a week later.[26] This was Evelyn's last visit to Egypt. She did, however, maintain contact with Howard Carter[27] and was present at his funeral at Putney Vale Cemetery in 1939.[28]

Lady Evelyn attended the opening of the Tutankhamun 50th anniversary celebrations in 1972, including the Treasures of Tutankhamun exhibition at the British Museum, London, where she was presented to the Queen who was there to open the exhibition.[29]

Marriage and later life[edit]

Lady Evelyn's grave in Putney Vale Cemetery (2019)

On 8 October 1923, Lady Evelyn Herbert married Brograve Beauchamp[2] at St Margaret's, Westminster.[30] They had one child, Patricia Evelyn Beauchamp (11 July 1925 – 7 October 2014). It was a difficult birth, after which Evelyn was told she would not be able to have more children.[31] In 1949 Patricia married Major Michael William Thomas Leatham, and had two sons, Simon Anthony Michael Leatham (born 1951) and Edward Arthur Martyn Leatham (born 1953).[32]

Brograve became a baronet on the death of his father in February 1925. He served as Conservative Member of Parliament for Walthamstow East from 1931 to 1945,[33] and died 25 August 1976 at the age of 79.[2]

Like her father and brother, Lady Evelyn owned a number of racehorses and often attended race meetings,[34] being described in the press as "petite, charming and immensely popular in racing circles".[35] She was also closely involved in London Society and regularly appeared in Society publications like The Tatler.[36] She remained on close terms with her to brother Henry,[37] and helped supervise the refurbishment and modernisation of Highclere after Henry became 6th Earl.[38]

In July 1935 she was injured in a serious car accident on her way to Newmarket, Suffolk,[39] and recuperated in the London nursing home established by her mother during the First World War.[40] She later suffered from a number of strokes.[41]

Lady Evelyn died in London on 31 January 1980 aged 78, three years after Sir Brograve.[2] She is buried beside her husband in Putney Vale Cemetery in South West London.[42][43] Howard Carter is also buried at Putney Vale.[44]

Relationship with Howard Carter[edit]

Lady Evelyn had known Howard Carter since she was a child, with Carter often visiting the Carnarvon's homes in London and Hampshire.[45] From 1920, Evelyn began to accompany her father on his annual winter trips to Egypt,[46] where she and Carter were on friendly terms.[47] While there were later suggestions of a discreet romantic relationship between the two, there is no evidence of any rumour or gossip among those present at the time.[48] Lady Evelyn denied the idea, later telling her daughter Patricia that "at first I was in awe of him, later I was rather frightened of him", she resenting Carter's "determination" to come between her and her father.[49] More recently, the 8th Earl of Carnarvon dismissed the story, describing Carter as a "stoical loner".[50]

In popular culture[edit]

Lady Evelyn Herbert has been portrayed in films, television productions, and novels, with varying degrees of accuracy:[51]

The German language novel Der König von Luxor by Philipp Vandenberg published in 2014[55] includes a largely fictionalised Lady Evelyn Beauchamp as one of the three principal characters.[56]

The novel The Collector's Daughter by Gill Paul published in 2021 provides a fictional version of Lady Evelyn against a backdrop of the events at the time of the tomb's discovery.[57]

Notes and references[edit]

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ Carnarvon 2012, p. 83.
  2. ^ a b c d Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burkes Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, vol 1 (107th ed.). London. p. 699. ISBN 0971196621.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ^ Herbert 1976, pp. 8–9.
  4. ^ Herbert 1976, pp. 6–7.
  5. ^ Carnarvon 2012, p. 168.
  6. ^ a b c "Lady Evelyn Herbert : Debutante of 1920". 15 September 2016.
  7. ^ Winstone 2006, p. 186.
  8. ^ Winstone 2006, p. 142.
  9. ^ The Tatler, Wednesday 14 April 1920, pages: 2–4.
  10. ^ Harry Burton’s photos of Tutankhamun’s Tomb, Griffith Institute Archive.
  11. ^ a b Price 2007, pp. 119–128.
  12. ^ Winstone 2006, pp. 135–136.
  13. ^ Carter & Mace 1923, pp. 94–95.
  14. ^ Winstone 2006, pp. 142–145.
  15. ^ Carter & Mace 1923, p. 90.
  16. ^ Lord Carnarvon, The Times (11 Dec 1922), cited in Winstone, p 154.
  17. ^ Lucas 1942, pp. 135–147.
  18. ^ a b c Hoving, Chapter 9 1978.
  19. ^ That the group entered the burial chamber is supported by Lucas and Hoving, but dismissed by Carnarvon in The Times, 11 Dec 1922.
  20. ^ Winstone 2006, p. 335.
  21. ^ Carter, p. 25–27 November 1922.
  22. ^ Carter & Mace 1923, pp. 101–104.
  23. ^ Winstone 2006, p. 155.
  24. ^ Winstone 2006, p. 188.
  25. ^ "Report of Carnarvon's death". The New York Times. 5 April 1923. Retrieved 12 August 2008.
  26. ^ "Howard Carter's diaries 1 Jan–31 May 1923".
  27. ^ "For example, Evelyn was the first person Carter visited on a 1923 trip to London, see his diary 30 May"., and
  28. ^ Winstone 2006, p. 327.
  29. ^ Cross 2016, p. 55.
  30. ^ Illustrated London News, Saturday 13 October 1923, page 6.
  31. ^ Carnarvon 2013, p. 78.
  32. ^ Conqueror 38, william1.co.uk, accessed 21 December 2020
  33. ^ Craig, F. W. S. (1983) [1969]. British Parliamentary Election Results 1918–1949 (3rd ed.). Parliamentary Research Services. p. 468. ISBN 0-900178-06-X.
  34. ^ Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic News, 22 January 1927, page: 188.
  35. ^ The Sketch, 7 April 1937, pages: 20–21.
  36. ^ For example: The Tatler, Wednesday 11 August 1943, pages: 10, 11, 26.
  37. ^ Herbert 1976, p. 9.
  38. ^ Herbert 1980, p. 53.
  39. ^ Liverpool Echo, Wednesday 3 July 1935, page: 13.
  40. ^ Portsmouth Evening News, Thursday 4 July 1935, page: 6.
  41. ^ Cross 2016, p. 77.
  42. ^ Putney Vale Cemetery: Burial and cremation records
  43. ^ "Confirmed by photograph of graves". 13 November 2019.
  44. ^ Winstone 2006, pp. 326–327.
  45. ^ Winstone 2006, passim.
  46. ^ Winstone 2006, pp. 342–343.
  47. ^ Winstone 2006, p. 135.
  48. ^ Cross 2016, p. 74. Also, no evidence of rumour or gossip is put forward by either Winstone or Hoving, or appears in the contemporary press, even though numerous journalists were at Luxor looking for stories.
  49. ^ Winstone 2006, p. 321.
  50. ^ Furness, Hannah (14 October 2016). "Row over Tutankhamun's tomb affair as ITV drama brings discovery to life". The Telegraph. Retrieved 24 April 2020.
  51. ^ Winstone 2006, p. viii.
  52. ^ "The Guardian 22 July 2012 Angharad Rees obituary". TheGuardian.com. 22 July 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  53. ^ "BBC Genome: The Curse of Tutankhamun, 2005". 6 November 2005. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  54. ^ a b "Radio Times.com 23 Nov 2016 Did Howard Carter and Evelyn Carnarvon have a romantic relationship?". Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  55. ^ "Catalogue of the Deutschen National Bibliothek". Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  56. ^ "Bastei Luebbe, Publisher". Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  57. ^ Paul, Gill (2021). The collector's daughter. Avon. ISBN 9780008453473.

General sources[edit]

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