Q&A With Susan Higginbotham discussion

Hey Susan,

I've just gotten to the part where Bessie is crowned and I noticed that Kate said kings weren't traditionally present when their wives/consorts were crowned. Why is this? I would have assumed his presense by necessity, being the king.

Thanks!

I'm not really sure why--J. L. Laynesmith suggests that it might have been because the king was considered to be there through the queen's being anointed with the chrism and therefore couldn't be there in person (it's called the theory of the king's two bodies, which also is said to have been why kings didn't attend their predecessor's funerals). It could also simply be because they didn't want to distract the crowd's attention from the queen!

Kings did sometimes watch the queen's coronation from a vantage point where they could not be seen by the public--Henry VII is known to have watched Elizabeth of York's coronation in this way, and Henry VIII is said by Eric Ives to have watched Anne Boleyn's coronation festivities in secret.

A king would be present, of course, when he and his wife were crowned at the same time, as with Edward II and Queen Isabella and Richard III and Queen Anne.

Thank you for that answer Susan. I kinda figured that if they were being crowned jointly, then they would both be there. I kinda wondered if because at that time it was just as much a religious ceremony as a political one, if it wasn't meant to be something between the queen and God. With a great many people watching her. LOL

That might make sense too! No one that I've read really seems to be quite sure.