Disclaimer: Jon and the world of Tortall are not mine own, sad.
There were few men in the world who could truly understand what it was to be completely surrounded and yet utterly alone. And though he would admit it to no one, it had taken him many years to learn that this was what it was to be King and to be Voice of the Tribes. To lead was to listen to the cacophonous chorus of voices, of needs and wants and desires all battling each other for supremacy and the right to be heard above all others, even his own. It wasn't about him or his friends or even the court that bowed and chattered and claimed counsel to the crown, but about every living being within his borders, every rock, river, tree, and creature that called this land home.
To be King was to disregard oneself for the sake of the people, to live life in a gilded cage directed by the customs and people of the world that passed it by and few could understand that. Alanna, having spent her life fighting the very culture and the norms of the world around her, could not. Nor could Cousin Gary or Sir Raoul, for none of them bore the weight of a kingdom upon their shoulders. Their lives were their own to live.
George had understood once. He had known what it was to make decisions that had impacts far beyond what the eye could see. Perhaps he still knew today, but Jonathan was no longer the boy who had sought advice from the King of Thieves and could not bring himself to seek confidence.
Above all, Thayet knew, though she had brought it upon herself to be Mother before Queen for despite her joint command of the kingdom, it was he the people looked to for protection, for counsel, and for laws, not she of foreign blood. The argument over Kalasin had been characteristic of their partnership where though she understood his reasoning, he also understood her need to protect her child as a Mother would. The world around them was still young and conservative and change must come in slow doses else the world strike out at unfamiliarity. Tortall no longer had peace agreements with its neighbors and some were quick to think the kingdom weak for it to have a female Champion. The strongest such agreements were found in the forms of betrothal and marriage and no one outside their boundaries would be so willing as to take a Princess Knight as wife; it was too large a dose of change and progress.
And so he had been forced to break his daughter's heart and though he knew she ultimately understood her duty to her people above all else, he found himself wishing that neither he nor his family were bound so tightly to duty and position but that they would be free to live their lives as they made them. Such thoughts were folly, however, and though he would be forever hindered by golden chains, he realised the boons they carried with them.
So he ruled and judged and lived the life the Gods had given his land. And though his friends surrounded him, he stood alone.