Source of MISquotation "Heavy hangs the head that wears a/the crown."?

Question

In Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 2, act 3, scene 1, the king has a soliloquy. It begins, "How many thousand of my poorest subjects / Are at this hour asleep! O sleep, O gentle sleep, . . ." At the end, he declares, "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown." My Web searches cannot find the source of the *extremely* widespread MISquotation above. I'm guessing there's contamination from the party game of "Heavy, heavy hangs over thy head" (see http://childrenparty.com/partygames/printversion/forfeits.html and very differently http://www.mythicjourneys.org/mythkids_oct06_halloween_forfeits.html ), but that's all it is--a guess. Web searches on "heavy hangs" "uneasy lies" head wear crown yield nothing useful.

Yes, I *am* asking for the source of the MISquotation--if anybody knows a single source or group of sources. The source of the original quotation is known.

Answer 1

cann't find it either - maybe a shakespeare adept can tell you

Answer 2

I can't find a quotable source for this, but I was always under the impression that this 'misquote' went back to the time of Charles II. The original coronation crown was destroyed by Oliver Cromwell (who had Charles I beheaded). St Edward's crown, which weights in at approximately 4 lb 5 oz (2 kg) is thought to bow the head of the Sovereign during the long hours of the coronation ceremony. Bearing in mind the fate of the previous king, plus the weight of the crown, then heavy would have been the head of Charles II at his coronation! Although traditionally it is used to crown the Sovereign during a coronation, it has now become somewhat symbolic. Queen Victoria and Edward VII chose not to be crowned in it because of its weight. Instead they chose to crowned with the lighter Imperial State Crown. .