So, I also find it kind of off-putting, but I haven't really come to a firm answer. Here's my understanding of their position and the history of it (as remembered off the top of my head - so I don't have direct sources for each claim/summarization, and doubtless I introduce some errors):
- Garman Lord had some kind of visionary experience involving Woden, who basically said "go start up my worship again!" This was apparently in the 70s and he was not directly involved in the burgeoning Neo-Pagan movement for some time, nor was it an offshoot of Asatru, which originated with Icelanders reviving their religion, but spread to the US pretty quickly - From the start, Lord and the other early Theodsmen maintained that the social organization of personal oaths and service that made up early Germanic groups was an integral part of the religion - the religion and the social organization supported each other, and the Kings were literal descendants of the Gods, and so had a key sacred role to play - So, for many years, Theodism was arranged as a basically feudal system, but the spot for King was left open, as Lord didn't feel like it was right for him to do that. New members of the Theod would come in with lower status titles, but as they proved good members, could be elevated. They used Old English titles for this, starting as a thrall, becoming a churl, and maybe eventually a Lord. Crucially, though, these roles were based on personal oaths to a specific person, and they had to be approved by the Witan (council) - From what I can tell, they never made any attempt to make this temporally significant - like, if you were a "thrall," the guy you swore your oath to couldn't make you come clean his house or something. But having higher position was seen as having more spiritual responsibility (provide more of the food for the festivals, do more in the rituals, and so forth) - At some point Lord did as the other folks in the "Winland Rice" (Kingdom of North America) and took on the title of King - Now, I'm inferring a bit here, but it seems like Theodism kinda fell on some hard times in the 90s - maybe the broader Neo-Pagan movement attracted folks who had otherwise been there, maybe Americans were squicked out by feudal oaths and titles, maybe they were embroiled in some of the drama of the wider Heathen world, I dunno all the details, but I think it might have gone nearly dormant - Then, from what I can gather, Thorbeorht Ealdorblotere basically took it upon himself to revive things - reaching out to Lord, forming a new, but subordinate group, and so forth. One key innovation he brought was the idea that trying to mirror mannerbunde-style warbands as the form of organization might not have been the best, and instead introduced the haliggild (Holy Guild) model. Historical research suggests that guilds used to be used for all kinds of things besides craft, including religious observation and organization, and they may have had pre-Christian roots - In the last few years, Lord stepped down as King and named Ealdorblotere as his successor, who was approved by the Witan and sworn in
So, that may be way more detail than you were looking for, and some of it is my speculation from reading between the lines in some of Lord's and Ealdorblotere's books. I think there's a strong case to be made that the role of "king" had a very important religious function in pre-Christian Germanic societies, and that if you are going for strict reconstructionism, you just might have to grapple with that. But as an American, I'm deeply suspicious of anyone being a "King." That being said, from checking out the Ealdrice Theod page, it looks like being "King" mostly just means Ealdorblotere runs the organization and heads the seasonal rituals and does weddings and stuff, and I haven't heard of anything untoward, but I also haven't seen any of this for myself, since it's up in Virginia and I'm in Texas.
Re: Asatru Folk Assembly
- Garman Lord had some kind of visionary experience involving Woden, who basically said "go start up my worship again!" This was apparently in the 70s and he was not directly involved in the burgeoning Neo-Pagan movement for some time, nor was it an offshoot of Asatru, which originated with Icelanders reviving their religion, but spread to the US pretty quickly
- From the start, Lord and the other early Theodsmen maintained that the social organization of personal oaths and service that made up early Germanic groups was an integral part of the religion - the religion and the social organization supported each other, and the Kings were literal descendants of the Gods, and so had a key sacred role to play
- So, for many years, Theodism was arranged as a basically feudal system, but the spot for King was left open, as Lord didn't feel like it was right for him to do that. New members of the Theod would come in with lower status titles, but as they proved good members, could be elevated. They used Old English titles for this, starting as a thrall, becoming a churl, and maybe eventually a Lord. Crucially, though, these roles were based on personal oaths to a specific person, and they had to be approved by the Witan (council)
- From what I can tell, they never made any attempt to make this temporally significant - like, if you were a "thrall," the guy you swore your oath to couldn't make you come clean his house or something. But having higher position was seen as having more spiritual responsibility (provide more of the food for the festivals, do more in the rituals, and so forth)
- At some point Lord did as the other folks in the "Winland Rice" (Kingdom of North America) and took on the title of King
- Now, I'm inferring a bit here, but it seems like Theodism kinda fell on some hard times in the 90s - maybe the broader Neo-Pagan movement attracted folks who had otherwise been there, maybe Americans were squicked out by feudal oaths and titles, maybe they were embroiled in some of the drama of the wider Heathen world, I dunno all the details, but I think it might have gone nearly dormant
- Then, from what I can gather, Thorbeorht Ealdorblotere basically took it upon himself to revive things - reaching out to Lord, forming a new, but subordinate group, and so forth. One key innovation he brought was the idea that trying to mirror mannerbunde-style warbands as the form of organization might not have been the best, and instead introduced the haliggild (Holy Guild) model. Historical research suggests that guilds used to be used for all kinds of things besides craft, including religious observation and organization, and they may have had pre-Christian roots
- In the last few years, Lord stepped down as King and named Ealdorblotere as his successor, who was approved by the Witan and sworn in
So, that may be way more detail than you were looking for, and some of it is my speculation from reading between the lines in some of Lord's and Ealdorblotere's books. I think there's a strong case to be made that the role of "king" had a very important religious function in pre-Christian Germanic societies, and that if you are going for strict reconstructionism, you just might have to grapple with that. But as an American, I'm deeply suspicious of anyone being a "King." That being said, from checking out the Ealdrice Theod page, it looks like being "King" mostly just means Ealdorblotere runs the organization and heads the seasonal rituals and does weddings and stuff, and I haven't heard of anything untoward, but I also haven't seen any of this for myself, since it's up in Virginia and I'm in Texas.