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During his busy life as sovereign, Frederick II was crowned on four occasions. The first took place in 1198 in Palermo, affirming his right to the throne as King of Sicily through his mother's dynastic line, Constance of Hauteville. The second, in 1212 in Mainz, saw him crowned King of Germany, following the succession of his father Henry VI. The third, highly symbolic coronation was held in 1215 in the Palatine Chapel in Aachen, before the remains of Emperor Charlemagne. This made him King of the Romans. The last one, the imperial coronation, took place on November 22, 1220 at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome by Pope Honorius III. But his story does not end there.
Indeed, the emperor was the subject of another, often forgotten coronation: Frederick crowned himself King of Jerusalem on March 18, 1229, in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. This event followed the Sixth Crusade, fought (so to speak!) through exclusively diplomatic means and in spite of the pope's excommunication. Frederick considered himself the legitimate heir to the throne of Jerusalem due to his second marriage to Jolande of Brienne, queen of the city.
