Eustace Chapuys was born in Annecy; his exact birth date is unknown but is believed to be between 1490 and 1492. He was the second son of Louis Chapuys, notary of Annecy in the Duchy of Savoy.

Eustace Chapuys was a very well-educated man, attending the University of Turin in 1507, where it is believed he stayed for five years, leaving in around 1512. Chapuys became a doctor of civil and canon laws and had an interest in humanist scholarship. His degree paved the way for his appointment in 1517 when he was employed as an official to the Bishop of Geneva and represented the bishop in the government of the city. In the years following this appointment, Chapuys delicately handled strained political alliances, representing his bishop and the Duke of Savoy. In 1525, Chapuys entered the services of the Duke of Bourbon, acting as his ambassador to Charles V’s court in Granada. Following the death of the Duke of Bourbon, Eustace entered into the service of Charles V the Holy Roman Emperor, and by the 25th June 1529, he was appointed as Charles V’s ambassador to England. It is this appointment which guarantees Chapuys’ place in history as an important historical figure.