# Coronation of the Bohemian monarch

The Coronation of the Bohemian monarch was a ceremony in which the king (or queen-regnant) and queen-consort (if there was one) were formally crowned, anointed, and invested with regalia. It was similar in form to coronation ceremonies in other parts of the Holy Roman Empire, in France, and in Hungary. As in France and England, the king's reign began immediately upon the death of his predecessor, especially after 1627.
Location of all coronations was St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, from the time it was founded (except for the secular coronations of the earliest kings). The representative of the Church performing the coronation (consecrator) was the Archbishop of Prague as Primas Bohemiae. Until the archbishopric of Prague was established in 1344, the archbishop of Mainz had the privilege of crowning the king and queen of Bohemia (from 1228 to 1344). This right was derived from his position as Primas Germaniae of the Holy Roman Empire and ecclesiastical overlord of the Bohemian dioceses of Prague and Olomouc. During the Sede vacante of the archdiocese of Prague from 1421 to 1561, the position of consecrator was mostly filled by bishop of Olomouc (highest local Roman Catholic bishop after archbishop of Prague) or by foreign bishops. During coronation, the archbishop was assisted by two bishops (mostly from the lands of the Bohemian Crown).
The form of the coronation ceremony was prescribed in an order of coronation (ordo in Latin, korunovační řád in Czech) ordained by King Charles I (Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor). It was based on an earlier Bohemian order of coronation (itself based on German coronation custom), and on the French coronation ceremony.
The first ruler (king) of Bohemia to be crowned was Vratislaus II of Bohemia. During the Middle Ages, it was held that enthronement would make a person Duke of Bohemia and that only coronation would make a person King of Bohemia. So coronations were held shortly after the accession of a new king. In the modern era, the new king ascended to the throne immediately after the death of his predecessor, and the coronation ceremony was held some time after his accession. The coronation church was St. Vitus Cathedral. Beginning in 1347, the monarchs of Bohemia were crowned with the Crown of Saint Wenceslas and invested with royal insignia, including a cap or mitre and a lance symbolic of Saint Wenceslas. Earlier coronation crowns have not been preserved.
Maria Theresa, the only female monarch of Bohemia, was crowned literally as king in order to emphasize that she was the monarch and not a consort. The last King of Bohemia to undergo a coronation were Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria (Ferdinand V as king of Bohemia) and his wife queen Maria Anna.
Most queen-consorts were crowned together with their husband, during the same ceremony, or one or more days after the coronation of the King. The first queen crowned alone was Elizabeth Richeza of Poland, the wife of Wenceslaus II, who was crowned on 26 May 1303 by the bishop of Wrocław. The last queen crowned in a separate coronation was Anna of Tyrol, wife of Matthias, on 10 January 1616.
The Abbess of St. George's Abbey had traditionally the privilege to assist archbishop with crowning of the wife of the King of Bohemia. St. George's Convent was abolished in 1782 and in 1791, the right to assist with crowning of the Queen of Bohemia was transferred to the Abbess of the neighbouring Theresian Institution of Noble Ladies (a post always filled by an Archduchess of Austria).
Coronation was not a prerequisite for exercising sovereign power in Bohemia, but all kings except seven were crowned. These were:
* Wenceslaus III (ruled 1305–1306, short reign, murdered before coronation)
* Rudolf I of Bohemia (ruled 1306–1307, short reign, deposed)
* Henry of Bohemia (ruled 1307–1310, short reign, deposed)
* Joseph I (ruled 1705–1711, died before coronation)
* Joseph II (ruled 1780–1790, not crowned in Hungary either)
* Franz Joseph I (ruled 1848–1916, longest reigning king, coronation promised twice but never realized)
* Charles III (ruled 1916–1918, short reign; state at war, deposed).
Coronation of the heir during life of his father sometimes occurred in the medieval and baroque period. King Ferdinand IV was crowned during the lifetime of his father (Ferdinand III), but died before him, so he never actually reigned. Other kings crowned during the reign of their predecessor were: Wenceslaus I of Bohemia, Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia, Louis, Maximilian, Rudolf II, Matthias, Ferdinand II, Ferdinand III, and Leopold I. Anti-king Charles Albert was not crowned during his short reign because the crown jewels were held by Maria Theresa. Charles Albert was proclaimed king in December 1741 by the bohemian nobility in the presence of the archbishop of Prague.

## List of royal coronations

| Status | Name | Date | Place | Consecrator |
| King | Vratislaus II of Bohemia | 20 April 1085 15 June 1086 | Mainz Prague | Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor Egilbert von Ortenburg Archbishop of Trier |
| Queen | Świętosława of Poland | 15 June 1086 | Prague | Egilbert von Ortenburg Archbishop of Trier |
| King | Vladislaus I | 11 January 1158 8 September 1158 | Regensburg Milan | Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor |
| King | Ottokar I of Bohemia | 8 September 1198 24 August 1203 | Boppard Merseburg | Guidem of Praeneste Papal legate |
| King | Wenceslaus I of Bohemia | 6 February 1228 | St. Vitus basilica, Prague | Siegfried von Eppstein Archbishop of Mainz |
| Queen | Kunigunde of Hohenstaufen wife of Wenceslaus I | 6 February 1228 | St. Vitus basilica, Prague | Siegfried von Eppstein Archbishop of Mainz |
| King | Ottokar II of Bohemia | 25 December 1261 | St. Vitus basilica, Prague | Werner von Eppstein Archbishop of Mainz |
| Queen | Kunigunda of Halych wife of Ottokar II of Bohemia | 25 December 1261 | St. Vitus basilica, Prague | Werner von Eppstein Archbishop of Mainz |
| King | Wenceslaus II of Bohemia | 2 June 1297 | St. Vitus basilica, Prague | Gerhard von Eppstein Archbishop of Mainz |
| Queen | Judith of Habsburg wife of Wenceslaus II | 2 June 1297 | St. Vitus basilica, Prague | Gerhard von Eppstein Archbishop of Mainz |
| Queen | Elizabeth Richeza of Poland wife of Wenceslaus II | 26 May 1303 | St. Vitus basilica, Prague | Henry of Wierzbna bishop of Wrocław |
| King | John of Bohemia | 7 February 1311 | St. Vitus basilica, Prague | Peter of Aspelt Archbishop of Mainz |
| Queen | Elizabeth of Bohemia wife of John of Bohemia, heiress of Kingdom | 7 February 1311 | St. Vitus basilica, Prague | Peter of Aspelt Archbishop of Mainz |
| Queen | Beatrice of Bourbon wife of John of Bohemia | 18 May 1337 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Jan IV of Dražice bishop of Prague |
| King | Charles I (Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor) | 2 September 1347 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Arnošt of Pardubice Archbishop of Prague |
| Queen | Blanche of Valois wife of Charles | 2 September 1347 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Arnošt of Pardubice Archbishop of Prague |
| Queen | Anne of Bavaria wife of Charles | 1 September 1349 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Arnošt of Pardubice Archbishop of Prague |
| Queen | Anna von Schweidnitz wife of Charles | 28 July 1353 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Arnošt of Pardubice Archbishop of Prague |
| Queen | Elizabeth of Pomerania wife of Charles | 18 June 1363 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Arnošt of Pardubice Archbishop of Prague |
| King | Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia | 15 June 1363 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Arnošt of Pardubice Archbishop of Prague |
| Queen | Joanna of Bavaria wife of Wenceslaus IV | 17 November 1370 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Jan Očko of Vlašim Archbishop of Prague |
| Queen | Sophia of Bavaria wife of Wenceslaus IV | 13 March 1400 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Olbram III of Škvorec Archbishop of Prague |
| King | Sigismund | 28 July 1420 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Conrad of Vechta Archbishop of Prague |
| Queen | Barbara of Cilli wife of Sigismund | 11 February 1437 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Sede vacante Philibert de Montjeu, bishop of Coutances |
| King | Albert | 29 June 1438 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Sede vacante Paul von Miličin und Talmberg, bishop of Olomouc |
| King | Ladislaus the Posthumous | 28 October 1453 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Sede vacante Jan XIII, bishop of Olomouc |
| King | George of Poděbrady | 7 May 1458 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Sede vacante Ágoston Salánki, bishop of Győr Vince Szilassi, bishop of Vác |
| Queen | Joanna of Rožmitál wife of George of Poděbrady | 8 May 1458 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Sede vacante Ágoston Salánki, bishop of Győr Vince Szilassi, bishop of Vác |
| King | Vladislaus II | 22 August 1471 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Sede vacante Jan XIII, bishop of Kamianets-Podilskyi |
| King | Louis | 11 March 1509 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Sede vacante Stanislav I Thurzo, bishop of Olomouc |
| Queen | Mary of Hungary wife of Louis | 1 January 1522 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Sede vacante Stanislav I Thurzo, bishop of Olomouc |
| King | Ferdinand I | 24 February 1527 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Sede vacante Stanislav I Thurzo, bishop of Olomouc |
| Queen | Anne of Bohemia and Hungary wife of Ferdinand I | 24 February 1527 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Sede vacante Stanislav I Thurzo, bishop of Olomouc |
| King | Maximilian | 20 November 1562 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Antonín Brus of Mohelnice Archbishop of Prague |
| Queen | Maria of Austria wife of Maximilian | 20 November 1562 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Antonín Brus of Mohelnice Archbishop of Prague |
| King | Rudolf II | 25 September 1575 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Antonín Brus of Mohelnice Archbishop of Prague |
| King | Matthias | 11 May 1611 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Franz von Dietrichstein Bishop of Olomouc |
| Queen | Anna of Tyrol wife of Matthias | 10 January 1616 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Johann Lohel Archbishop of Prague |
| Anti-King Winter King | Frederick | 4 November 1619 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Jiří Dikast Mirkovský Jan Cyril Třebíčský Wilhelm Popel von Lobkowitz Bohuchval Berka z Dubé |
| Queen | Elizabeth Stuart wife of Frederick | 4 November 1619 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Jiří Dikast Mirkovský |
| King | Ferdinand II | 29 June 1617 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Johann Lohel Archbishop of Prague |
| Queen | Eleonora Gonzaga wife of Ferdinand II | 21 November 1627 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Ernst Adalbert von Harrach Archbishop of Prague, primate of Bohemia |
| King | Ferdinand III | 24 November 1627 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Ernst Adalbert von Harrach Archbishop of Prague, primate of Bohemia |
| King | Ferdinand IV crowned during lifetime of his father, never reign | 5 August 1646 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Ernst Adalbert von Harrach Archbishop of Prague, primate of Bohemia |
| Queen | Eleonora Gonzaga wife of Ferdinand III | 11 September 1656 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Ernst Adalbert von Harrach Archbishop of Prague, primate of Bohemia |
| King | Leopold I | 14 November 1656 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Ernst Adalbert von Harrach Archbishop of Prague, primate of Bohemia |
| King | Charles II | 5 September 1723 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Ferdinand Graf von Khünburg Archbishop of Prague, primate of Bohemia |
| Queen | Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel wife of Charles II | 8 September 1723 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Ferdinand Graf von Khünburg Archbishop of Prague, primate of Bohemia |
| Queen-regnant | Maria Theresa | 12 May 1743 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Jakub Arnošt z Lichtenštejna-Kastelkornu Bishop of Olomouc |
| King | Leopold II | 6 September 1791 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Antonín Petr hrabě Příchovský z Příchovic Archbishop of Prague, primate of Bohemia |
| Queen | Maria Luisa of Spain wife of Leopold II | 12 September 1791 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Antonín Theodor Colloredo-Waldsee Archbishop of Olomouc Maria Anna of Austria, archduchess-abbes of Damenstift |
| King | Francis | 9 August 1793 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Antonín Petr hrabě Příchovský z Příchovic Archbishop of Prague, primate of Bohemia |
| Queen | Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily wife of Francis | 11 August 1793 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Antonín Petr hrabě Příchovský z Příchovic Archbishop of Prague, primate of Bohemia Maria Anna of Austria, archduchess-abbes of Damenstift |
| King | Ferdinand V | 7 September 1836 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Andrzej Alojzy Ankwicz Archbishop of Prague, primate of Bohemia |
| Queen | Maria Anna of Savoy wife of Ferdinand V | 12 September 1836 | St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague | Andrzej Alojzy Ankwicz Archbishop of Prague, primate of Bohemia Maria Theresa of Austria, archduchess-abbes of Damenstift |