| Emperor ofIndia | |
|---|---|
| Kaisar-i-Hind | |
Imperial | |
.svg) | |
.jpg) | |
| Details | |
| First monarch | Victoria |
| Last monarch | George VI (continued asmonarch of India andPakistan) |
| Formation | 1 May 1876 |
| Abolition | 22 June 1948 |
Emperor (orEmpress if the monarch is female)of India was a title used byBritish monarchs from 1 May 1876 (with theRoyal Titles Act 1876) to 22 June 1948[1][2][3] to signify their sovereignty over theBritish Indian Empire as its imperialhead of state. The image of the Emperor or Empress appeared onIndian currency, in government buildings, railway stations, courts, on statues, etc. Oaths of allegiance were made to the Emperor or Empress and the lawful successors by thegovernors-general,princes, governors,commissioners in India in events such asimperial durbars.
The title was abolished on 22 June 1948, with theIndian Independence Act 1947, under whichGeorge VI made aroyal proclamation that the words "Emperor of India" were to be omitted instyles of address and fromcustomary titles. This was almost a year after he became thetitular head of the newlypartitioned and independent dominions ofIndia andPakistan in 1947. These were abolished upon the establishment of theRepublic of India in 1950 and theIslamic Republic of Pakistan in 1956.
After the nominalMughal emperorBahadur Shah Zafar was deposed at the conclusion of theIndian Rebellion of 1857 (10 May 1857 – 1 November 1858), the government of theUnited Kingdom decided to transfer control ofBritish India and theprincely states from the mercantileEast India Company (EIC) tothe Crown, thus marking the beginning of theBritish Raj. The EICwas officially dissolved on 1 June 1874, and theBritish prime minister,Benjamin Disraeli, decided to offerQueen Victoria the title "Empress of India" shortly afterwards. Victoria accepted this style on 1 May 1876. The firstDelhi Durbar (which served as an imperial coronation) was held in her honour eight months later on 1 January 1877.[5]
The idea of having Queen Victoria proclaimed Empress of India was not particularly new, asLord Ellenborough had already suggested it in 1843 upon becoming thegovernor-general of India. By 1874,Major-GeneralSir Henry Ponsonby, the Queen's private secretary, had ordered English charters to be scrutinised for imperial titles, withEdgar andStephen mentioned as sound precedents. The Queen, possibly irritated by the sallies of the republicans, the tendency to democracy, and the realisation that her influence was manifestly on the decline, was urging the move.[6] Another factor may have been that the Queen's first child,Victoria, was married toFrederick, the heir apparent to theGerman Empire. Upon becoming empress, she would outrank her mother.[7] By January 1876, the Queen's insistence was so great that Benjamin Disraeli felt that he could procrastinate no longer.[6] Initially, Victoria had considered the style "Empress of Great Britain, Ireland, and India", but Disraeli had persuaded the Queen to limit the title to India in order to avoid controversy.[8] Hence, the titleKaisar-i-Hind was coined in 1876 by the orientalistG.W. Leitner as the official imperial title for the British monarch in India.[9] The termKaisar-i-Hind means emperor of India in the vernacular of the Hindi and Urdu languages. The wordkaisar, meaning 'emperor', is a derivative of the Roman imperial titlecaesar (viaPersian andOttoman Turkish – seeKaiser-i-Rum), and is cognate with the German titleKaiser, 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 theGovernment of India Act 1858, which resulted in the founding of British India, ruled directly bythe 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]
WhenEdward 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.[2]
The first emperor to visit India wasGeorge V. For his imperial coronation ceremony at theDelhi Durbar, theImperial 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 for3+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 theUnion of India (1947–1950) andDominion of Pakistan (1947–1952) after independence in 1947. George VI retained the title until 22 June 1948, the date of a Royal Proclamation[14] made in accordance with Section 7 (2) of theIndian Independence Act 1947, reading: "The assent of the Parliament of the United Kingdom is hereby given to the omission from the Royal Style and Titles of the wordsIndiae 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."[15] Thereafter, George VI remained monarch of Pakistan until his death in 1952, and of India until it became theRepublic of India on 26 January 1950.
British coins, as well as those of theEmpire and theCommonwealth, had routinely included the abbreviated titleInd. Imp. Coins in India, on the other hand, had the wordempress, and laterking-emperor in English. The title appeared on coinage in the United Kingdom throughout 1948, with a further Royal Proclamation made on 22 December under theCoinage Act 1870 to omit the abbreviated title.[16]
| 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 byLord Lytton) | Hanover |
 | Edward VII | 9 November 1841 | 22 January 1901 – 6 May 1910 | 6 May 1910 |  | 1 January 1903 (represented byLord Curzon) | Saxe-Coburg and Gotha |
.jpg) | George V | 3 June 1865 | 6 May 1910 – 20 January 1936 | 20 January 1936 |  | 12 December 1911 | Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1910–1917) Windsor (1917–1936) |
.jpg) | Edward VIII | 23 June 1894 | 20 January 1936 – 11 December 1936 | 28 May 1972 | None | None[b] | Windsor |
.jpg) | George VI | 14 December 1895 | 11 December 1936 – 15 August 1947 | 6 February 1952 |  | None[c] | Windsor |
