Konigsburg alternates points of view.  He uses a variety of first person points of view in constructing his narrative of life in the royal courts of Eleanor of Aquatine during the 1100s.  (We know that it is a first person narrative because all of the characters say "I" did this or "we" did that.)  However, in the introductory section and in the sections that follow each character's personal story, the conversation is told in third person ("she said," "he said,").  The effect is that the reader acts as both eavesdropper in Heaven and immersed in what seems to be current events on earth. 

First, in the introduction to the novel, Eleanor, her mother-in-law, Matilda and Abbott Suger discuss how they came "up" to Heaven after various stints in Purgatory.  The three reflect on their successes and failures of life on earth and speculate on the fate of Henry II, Eleanor's husband and Matilda's son as he awaits eternal judgment. 

Then, in the tradition of Chaucer, the story is told from the point of view of characters who had experience dealing with King Henry and Queen Eleanor on Earth.   At the end of each character's story, we return to Heaven to hear how others react to the point of view of the storyteller. 

By the conclusion, the reader has a good idea what it would have felt like to be living in Eleanor's age as well as the benefit of hindsight into human foibles through third person reflection.