King-Emperor
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A king-emperor (the female equivalent being queen-empress) is a sovereign ruler who is simultaneously a king of one territory and emperor of another. This title usually results from a merger of a royal and imperial crown, but recognises the two territories as different politically and culturally as well as in status (emperor being a higher rank than king). It also denotes a king's imperial status through the acquisition of an empire or vice versa.
The dual title signifies a sovereign's dual role, but may also be created to improve a ruler's prestige. Both cases, however, show that the merging of rule was not simply a case of annexation where one state is swallowed by another, but rather of unification and almost equal status, though in the case of the British monarchy the suggestion that an emperor is higher in rank than a king was avoided by creating the title "king-emperor" or "queen-empress" instead of "emperor-king" or "empress-queen".
In Austria-Hungary
Another use of this dual title was in 1867, when the multi-national
The
In the Italian colonial empire
Following the
The King-Emperor was represented by the Viceroy, who was also appointed as Governor-General of Italian East Africa (AOI – Africa Orientale Italiana). The capital city of the Viceroy and Governor-General was Addis Ababa.
In the German Empire
In 1871, the
After the devastating loss in the
In the British Empire
The
The reigning King-Emperors or Queen-Empress used the initials R I (Rex Imperator or Regina Imperatrix) or the abbreviation Ind. Imp. (Indiae Imperator/Imperatrix) after their name (while the one reigning Queen-Empress, Victoria, used the initials R I, the three consorts of the married King-Emperors simply used R).
British coins, and those of the British Empire and Commonwealth dominions, routinely included some variation of the titles Rex Ind. Imp., although in India itself the coins said "Empress", and later "King Emperor." When, in August 1947, India became independent, all dies had to be changed to remove the latter two abbreviations, in some cases taking up to a year. In the United Kingdom, coins of George VI carried the title to 1948.
Titles
- The Serbian emperor Stefan Dušan (r. 1346–55), who started off as king (1331–46), is attested with the title "Emperor of Greece and King of All Serb Lands and the Maritime" in a document dating to between 1347 and 1356 (see also Emperor of the Serbs).[1][2]
- The Holy Roman Emperors were also Kings of Italy, Bohemia, Germany, Burgundy, and/or Hungary for most of the time that title existed.
- Napoleon was simultaneously Emperor of the French and King of Italy. His title was shortened to "Emperor-King" (Empereur-Roi or l'Empereur et Roi) rather than "King-Emperor".
- King of Portugal and was titled King-Emperor until his death. After John VI's death, his son Pedrobriefly succeeded him as King of Portugal while reigning as Emperor of Brazil.
See also
- Kaiserlich und königlich
- King-Grand Duke
- Emperor at home, king abroad
References
- ^ Miklosich, Franz (1858). Monumenta serbica spectantia historiam Serbiae, Bosnae, Ragusii ed: Fr. apud Guilelmum Braumüller. p. 154.
- ISBN 978-0-85771-307-0.