Coronations of the kings and queens of Jerusalem

The kings and queens of the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem (1100–1291) were invested with royal powers in coronation ceremonies. The first coronation of a king or queen normally encompassed consecration and anointing, which were constitutionally more important than the act of crowning.

Coronations were usually held on feast days or Sundays. The prerogative to perform the rite belonged to the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem; another prelate could perform it if the patriarchate was vacant or the patriarch was unavailable. The coronation site shifted in 1131 from the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and, after the loss of Jerusalem in 1187, was relocated in the thirteenth century to the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Tyre.

At least two crowns existed in the twelfth century: one for the king and one for the queen. Other regalia included the orb and the sceptre. The royal insignia were kept in a treasure vault that had to be unlocked by at least two keys, belonging to the masters of the Knights Templar and Knights Hospitaller; a third key may have belonged to the patriarch. The Pontifical of Tyre preserves the order of service for the thirteenth-century coronations, showing the various roles played by the royal officers. After the coronation, the king offered his crown to the Temple of the Lord, then redeemed it for a lower price, and proceeded to a banquet at the Temple of Solomon; in the thirteenth century the coronation was followed by a banquet at the royal palace in Tyre. The last territories of the Kingdom of Jerusalem were lost in 1291, after which three kings and two queens of Cyprus were crowned on Cyprus as kings and queens of Jerusalem.