7 - Divergence: the construction of rival Prussian identities

Summary

The common man cannot grasp the nature of kingship. But through things which touch his senses, especially eyesight, he attains a vague idea of its power. This shows that a luxurious court and its ceremonies are far from superfluous or worthy of reproach.

(Christian Wolff)

On 18 January 1701 Frederick III, Elector of Brandenburg (1688–1713), crowned himself and his wife, Sophie Charlotte of Hanover, King and Queen in Prussia. Impressed by the sumptuous coronation festivities in Königsberg, Lord Plantamour, the English envoy to Berlin, described the event in great detail:

The coronation ceremony was conducted in a magnificence that went beyond anything one might have imagined … Around ten o'clock, the Elector left his chambers, the sceptre in his hand, and the crown on his head, which he had placed there himself. His royal gown was held by the great chamberlain, the Count of Dhona and the young Count Denhoff … Walking ahead [of the Elector] were the first officers of Prussia, the Chancellor with the Seals, the Grand Maître with the Globe and the Burgrave or Supreme Judge with the Sword.

Obviously revelling in the splendour of the festivities, Plantamour's sharp sense of observation still caught the unusual circumstances of this event. Here a prince of the Empire dared to elevate himself above other imperial princes on the ground that parts of his patrimonial territories were situated beyond imperial borders.