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And Boleyn, Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Catherine of Braganza, Charles II of England, coronation, Henry the Young King, King George IV of the United Kingdom, King George VI of the United Kingdom, Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, Matilda of Flanders, Philip II of Spain, Queen Consort, Roman Catholic, William the Conqueror
Coronations may be performed for a person other than the reigning monarch. In 1170, Henry the Young King, heir apparent to the throne, was crowned as a second king of England, subordinate to his father Henry II; such coronations were common practice in mediaeval France and Germany, but this is only one of two instances of its kind in England (the other being that of Ecgfrith of Mercia in 796, crowned whilst his father, Offa of Mercia, was still alive).
More commonly, a king’s wife is crowned as queen consort. If the king is already married at the time of his coronation, a joint coronation of both king and queen may be performed. The first such coronation was of Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine in 1154; seventeen such coronations have been performed, including that of the join sovereigns King William III and Queen Mary II.
I did some research to see if King Felipe II of Spain had a coronation in his capacity as King of England and Ireland. According to Harry Kelsey the author of “Philip of Spain, King of England, The Forgotten Sovereign” reports that the English Parliament’s unwillingness to agree to a coronation ceremony ultimately restricted Philip’s ability to govern England and he was never officially confirmed as King.
The most recent coronation of a King and Queen was that of King George VI and the former Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in 1937. If the king married, or remarried, after his coronation, or if his wife was not crowned with him for some other reason, she might be crowned in a separate ceremony.
The first such separate coronation of a queen consort in England was that of Matilda of Flanders in 1068 the wife of King William I the Conqueror and the last was Henry VIII’s second wife Anne Boleyn in 1533. The most recent king to wed post-coronation was, King Charles II, and he did not have a separate coronation for his bride, Catherine of Braganza.
Owing to her devotion to the Roman Catholic faith in which she had been raised, Catherine was unpopular in England. Catherine was not a particularly popular choice of queen, and since she was a Roman Catholic her religion prevented her from being crowned, as Roman Catholics were forbidden to take part in Anglican services.
In some instances, the king’s wife was simply unable to join him in the coronation ceremony due to circumstances preventing her from doing so. In 1821, George IV’s estranged wife Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was not invited to the ceremony; when she showed up at Westminster Abbey anyway, she was denied entry and turned away.
Following the English Civil War, Oliver Cromwell declined the crown but underwent a coronation in all but name in his second investiture as Lord Protector in 1657.