Emperor of India

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Empress consort of India
)
This article is about an official title used by British monarchs. For other emperors in the Indian subcontinent, see List of Indian monarchs. For the British battleship, see HMS Emperor of India.

Emperor of India
Kaisar-i-Hind
Imperial
The Star of India
Last to reign
George VI
11 December 1936 – 15 August 1947
Details
First monarchVictoria
Last monarchGeorge VI
(continued as monarch of India and Pakistan)
Formation1 May 1876
Abolition22 June 1948

Emperor or Empress of India was a title used by

imperial durbars
.

The title was abolished on 22 June 1948, with the

Islamic Republic of Pakistan
in 1956.

History

See also: Style of the British sovereign
New Crowns for Old: Disraeli and Victoria in a cartoon mimicking a scene in Aladdin where lamps are exchanged. She made him Earl of Beaconsfield at this time.[4]

After the nominal

British prime minister, Benjamin Disraeli, decided to offer Queen Victoria the title "Empress of India" shortly afterwards. Victoria accepted this style on 1 May 1876. The first Delhi Durbar (which served as an imperial coronation) was held in her honour eight months later on 1 January 1877.[5]

The Imperial Crown of India

The idea of having Queen Victoria proclaimed empress of India was not particularly new, as

Kaiser-i-Rum), and is cognate with the German title Kaiser, which was borrowed from the Latin at an earlier date.[10]

Many in the United Kingdom, however, regarded the assumption of the title as an obvious development from the Government of India Act 1858, which resulted in the founding of British India, ruled directly by the Crown. The public were of the opinion that the title of "queen" was no longer adequate for the ceremonial ruler of what was often referred to informally as the "Indian Empire". The new styling underlined the fact that the native states were no longer a mere agglomeration but a collective entity.[11]

George V's signature with the initials R I (Rex Imperator)
A Canadian 1-cent coin with the inscription Ind. Imp. (Indiae Imperator)

When Edward VII ascended to the throne on 22 January 1901, he continued the imperial tradition laid down by his mother, Queen Victoria, by adopting the title Emperor of India. Three subsequent British monarchs followed in his footsteps, and the title continued to be used after India and Pakistan had become independent on 15 August 1947. It was not until 22 June 1948 that the style was officially abolished during the reign of George VI.[2]

The first emperor to visit India was George V. For his imperial coronation ceremony at the Delhi Durbar, the Imperial Crown of India was created. The Crown weighs 920 g (2.03 lb) and is set with 6,170 diamonds, 9 emeralds, 4 rubies, and 4 sapphires. At the front is a very fine emerald weighing 32 carats (6.4 g).[12] The king wrote in his diary that it was heavy and uncomfortable to wear: "Rather tired after wearing my crown for 3+1⁄2 hours; it hurt my head, as it is pretty heavy."[13]

The title "Emperor of India" did not disappear when British India became the

Republic of India
in 1950.

British coins, as well as those of the Empire and the Commonwealth, had routinely included the abbreviated title Ind. Imp. Coins in India, on the other hand, had the word "empress", and later "king-emperor" in English. The title appeared on coinage in the United Kingdom throughout 1948, with a further Royal Proclamation made on 22 December under the Coinage Act 1870 to omit the abbreviated title.[16]

List of emperors and empresses

Portrait Name Birth Reign Death Consort
Imperial Durbar
Royal House
Victoria 24 May 1819 1 May 1876 – 22 January 1901 22 January 1901 None[a] 1 January 1877
(represented by Lord Lytton) 		Hanover
Edward VII 9 November 1841 22 January 1901 – 6 May 1910 6 May 1910

Alexandra of Denmark

1 January 1903
(represented by Lord Curzon) 		Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
George V 3 June 1865 6 May 1910 – 20 January 1936 20 January 1936

Mary of Teck

12 December 1911 Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
(1910–1917)
Windsor
(1917–1936)
Edward VIII 23 June 1894 20 January 1936 – 11 December 1936 28 May 1972 None None[b] Windsor
George VI 14 December 1895 11 December 1936 – 15 August 1947 6 February 1952

Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon

 None[c] Windsor

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Victoria's husband Prince Albert died on 14 December 1861.
  2. ^ Edward VIII abdicated after less than one year of reign.
  3. ^ A durbar was deemed expensive and impractical due to poverty and demands for independence.[17]

References

  1. ^ "No. 38330". The London Gazette. 22 June 1948. p. 3647. Royal Proclamation of 22 June 1948, made in accordance with the Indian Independence Act 1947, 10 & 11 GEO. 6. CH. 30. ('Section 7: ...(2)The assent of the Parliament of the United Kingdom is hereby given to the omission from the Royal Style and Titles of the words " Indiae Imperator " and the words " Emperor of India " and to the issue by His Majesty for that purpose of His Royal Proclamation under the Great Seal of the Realm.'). According to this Royal Proclamation, the King retained the style and titles 'George VI by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas King, Defender of the Faith'
  2. ^ a b Indian Independence Act 1947 (10 & 11 Geo. 6. c. 30)
  3. ISBN 978-0-313-27326-1
    .
  4. ISBN 9781576079256
    .
  5. ^ L. A. Knight, "The Royal Titles Act and India", The Historical Journal, Cambridge University Press, Vol. 11, No. 3 (1968), pp. 488–489.
  6. ^ a b L. A. Knight, p. 489.
  7. ^ "Remembering Vicky, the Queen Britain never had". www.newstatesman.com. 10 June 2021.
  8. ^ L. A. Knight, p. 488.
  9. ^ B.S. Cohn, "Representing Authority in Victorian India", in E. Hobsbawm and T. Ranger (eds.), The Invention of Tradition (1983), 165–209, esp. 201-2.
  10. ^ See Witzel, Michael, "Autochthonous Aryans? The Evidence from Old Indian and Iranian Texts", p. 29, 12.1 PDF Archived 23 May 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ L. A. Knight, pp. 491, 496
  12. ASIN B00283LZA6
    .
  13. ISBN 0-5820-0989-8
    .
  14. ^ "No. 38330". The London Gazette. 22 June 1948. p. 3647.
  15. ^ Indian Independence Act 1947, Section 7 (2)
  16. ^ "No. 38487". The London Gazette. 24 December 1948. p. 6665.
  17. ISBN 978-0-09-947662-7
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