Beneath the grand fresco, the new King dons the dual crowns for himself.
The artist swiftly sketches the outline, capturing the bewildered and anxious Archbishop, the excited Coptic monk, the gallant figure of the new King, and the cheering Crusaders. Depicting all these figures in such a short time is impossible.
He focuses on recording each person's expressions, the emblems on their cloaks, and facial features, to refine them later—he has a premonition that this will become a world-famous painting worthy of the annals of history.
A priest recorded it thus: When the new King was crowned and the crowd celebrated, the new King merely smiled faintly, as if reclaiming Alexandria Major Archdiocese, lost for millennia, was but the first negligible step in his grand enterprise.
As for Their Majesties, the two Kings, their feelings were much more complex.
