 The Court of King 's Bench ( or Court of Queen 's Bench during the reign of a female monarch ) , formally known as The Court of the King Before the King Himself , was an English court of common law in the English legal system . Created in the late 12th to early 13th century from the curia regis , initially following the Norman Conquest , it was the highest general common law court in England and Wales until the Judicature Act 1873 , which abolished the separate court system of England and Wales .
The court was presided over by the Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice , and was attended by