Eight Kings

When Macbeth visits the weird sisters and demands to know whether or not Banquo's heirs will become kings, the witches conjure a vision of eight kings, the last of which holds a mirror that reflects on many more such kings (4.8.1). The fact that these are Banquo's heirs makes Macbeth really unhappy. It's important to note that one of the kings in the mirror happens to be holding two orbs and is a symbolic representation of King James I of England (a.k.a. King James VI of Scotland), who traced his lineage back to Banquo. At James's coronation ceremony in England (1603), James held two orbs (one representing England and one representing Scotland). We can't forget that King James was a major patron of Shakespeare, and that the Bard here shows his debt of gratitude to the King by exploring James's Scottish roots and confirming the lineage of an English king.