|
The title Empress of India was given to Queen Victoria in 1877. The title was created some years after the formal incorporation into the British Empire of Britain's possessions and protectorates on the Indian subcontinent, comprising modern-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Burma (though the latter would be made a separate colony in 1937). It is said Victoria's desire for such a title was motivated partially out of jealousy of the imperial titles of her distant cousins William I, German Emperor, and Alexander II of Russia. Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli is usually credited with creating the title for her. Also, the title was created when it became evident that Queen Victoria's daughter, Victoria, Princess Royal, would become an empress when her husband ascended the German imperial throne. When Victoria died, and her son Edward VII ascended the throne, his title became Emperor of India. The title continued until India and Pakistan became independent from the United Kingdom at midnight on 14/15 August 1947. The title itself was not formally abandoned by Edward VIII's successor, George VI, until 1948. When signing their name for Indian business, a King-Emperor or reigning Queen-Empress used the initials R I (Rex/Regina Imperator/Imperatrix) or the abbreviation Ind. Imp. (Indiae Imperator/Imperatrix) after their name (while reigning Queen-Empresses used the initials R I, consorts of King-Emperors simply used R). This was also used on many British coins, including some 1948 coins of George VI. When a male monarch held the title, his Queen Consort assumed the title Queen-Empress, but unlike Queen Victoria, they themselves were not reigning monarchs but the consorts of reigning monarchs.
Emperors and Empresses of India
King of India and Pakistan George VI continued to reign as King of India for two years during the short Governor-Generalships of Lord Mountbatten and of Rajagopalachari until India became a republic on 26 January 1950. George VI remained as King of the United Kingdom and King of Pakistan until his death in 1952. Pakistan became a republic on 23 March 1956, so Elizabeth II was Queen of Pakistan for four years. See also | ||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||
 |
|
| |