Were Marriages Consummated in Public?

Essentially the newly married couple had sex in the presence of witnesses, usually with the bed curtains closed and the observers discreetly waiting on the outer fringes of the room. ... But having witnesses at the marriage bed to make sure the marriage was consummated was indeed practiced during the Middle Ages.

Was the consummation of royal marriages witnessed?

The consummation itself, i.e. the couple's first sexual intercourse, was not witnessed in most of Western Europe. ... Finally the curtains were drawn around the bed and the couple was left alone. Some newlyweds refused to take part in the bedding ceremony. King Charles I of England ( r .

Did people watch Royal Consummations?

In sixteenth-century Sweden, after the couple were put into the bed, their family and friend sat on it and shared food with them, before leaving them. However, in most of Europe, unless you were the heir to the throne, no one watched the consummation itself!