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PARTISAN REVIEW
Despite the Queen's propriety, and the unwavering love which
she felt for King Philip until his death, the legend of her love affair
with Villamediana, which travelers, especially French, carried all
over the world, has survived the passage of time, and served as the
plot for innumerable dramas, novels, and ballads. What truth is
there in the legend? Perhaps the Queen's frivolity and gaiety were
more apparent when she was in the company of that lively and
poetic gallant, whom she met constantly, since he served her as con–
fidential courier. Yet we can be certain that it was nothing more
than a flirtation.
There is no doubt in my mind that it was Villamediana him–
self who, prompted by that irresistible love of scandal which typifies
the donjuanesque personality, started the rumors about his royal
love affair. Thus the legend was created by Villamediana himself,
and it is easy now to work out the mechanism of the intrigue.
We know for a fact that the person to whom the Count was
paying court was not the Queen but one of her ladies-in-waiting,
the aforementioned Dona Francisca de Tavara. And she, in turn,
was the King's mistress. Villamediana, then, was the King's rival,
not in the affections of the irreproachable Queen, but in those of
the wanton Dona Francisca, a young, extremely beautiful Portuguese
lady. The Count's aspirations were indeed high. His "love was
royal," but not legitimately so. Scholars have managed to work out
the pun. But they have not noticed the obvious fact that it was pur–
posely invented by Villamediana to plume his donjuanesque vanity.
When the Count went out to fight a bull, in the main square of
Madrid, during a royal celebration, wearing on his hat the famous
motto "my love is royal," he was referring not to Dona Isabela but
to Dona Francisca, who was also a royal love. It was a clever pun;
it has fooled everyone since. The love poems which he dedicated
to a lady called "Francelisa" are similarly misleading. "Francelisa"
is a double anagram. It may mean "the Frenchwoman," that is, the
Queen, and this is how it was understood by contemporaries. But
it also means "Francisca," the Portuguese lady. He hinted every–
thing, and at the same time made sure that nothing could be proved
against him. He probably spent many enjoyable hours at this
malicious game.
But the most striking part has yet to be told.
As
far as the
