On the same day King Charles III and Queen Camilla were crowned, a Christchurch couple were similarly honoured at a sold-out event in Canberra.
Medieval revivalists Jonathan Anderson and Vicki Hyde were crowned rulers of Lochac – a term for the Australasian region used by the Society for Creative Anachronism.
Medieval revivalists Jonathan Anderson and Vicki Hyde Photo: Sir Nathan Blacktower
The Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA) was formed in Berkeley, California 57 years ago, inspired by a party where people dressed up as medieval knights and lords and ladies, says Vicki, a science writer.
The organisation has 80,000 members across 20 geographical kingdoms who share an interest in the lifestyle and activities of pre-17th-century Europe - battles, tournaments, balls, horseriding and archery. And of course great banquets of medieval food made from centuries-old cookbooks that often include roast meat, pies and even a pasta-and-cheese dish known as Makerouns.
At SCA groups around New Zealand, members take on a persona from a particular Middle Ages culture and time period, Vicki says - anything from "full Elizabethan" to Viking warrior to Mongolian archer.
"You might have a Plantagenet lord standing next to a Viking lady standing next to someone whos doing woodwork based on early furniture making and someone else who's interested in the skill and craft of rapier."
Vicki and Jonathan, formerly known as Baron Ratbot and Baroness Katherine Kerr, are now King Ratbot and Queen Katherine Kerr of Lochac.
Like most SCA groups around the world, Lochac crowns a new king and queen every six months - usually the winner of a biannual sword-fighting tournament and their consort.
At a recent tournament, Vicki's Crown Tournament combatant partner Jonathan was the stand-out swordsman
"My Lord Consort and I went to [a tournament in] the Barony of Aneala, otherwise known as Perth, and he was victorious there."
Vicki Hyde as her SCA alter-ego Baroness Katherine Kerr, photo credit Lady Isabell Winter Photo:
Jonathan and Vicki, who've been members of SCA for 30 years, are the first Kiwis to be crowned King and Queen of Lochac.
Their six-month reign will be "short but intense", Vicki says.
Over this time, the couple will travel to 22 events around Australia and New Zealand, including multi-day wars, balls and workshops.
"We're the titular heads so we get to recognise people's good efforts. We get to hopefully model the best we can be in terms of courtesy and chivalry - because those are founding virtues of the SCA - and have a jolly good time while we're doing it."
Vicki says that SCA gatherings have a rare cross-generational camaraderie that she enjoys.
"[People usually] tend to silo ourselves off into age groups. When we have 200 or 300 people gather for our week-long camping event in January it's like being in a small village."
At the campsites, large medieval sleeping tents similar to those seen at the 15th-century Battle of Agincourt take centre stage while "plastic jobs from The Warehouse" are relegated to the edges.
"If you look across the fields and you squint and the fog comes up, it's almost like being there, especially when you've got a harp playing in the background and someone's singing and you can hear the clash of the swords or the thnk of an archery arrow as it hits the target … it can be really magical."
