Now You Know Royalty. Doug Lennox

kingdom?

       Where did the rulers of China and Japan get the title Emperor ?

      The title was adopted from the West. It was the descriptive term applied to them by Europeans and, in that sense, it, too comes from the Roman Empire. The Chinese and Japanese themselves had a quite different name for their rulers — the “Son of Heaven.”

       What was the first imperial dynasty of China?

      The short-lived Ch’in dynasty, whose ruler, Shih Huang-Ti, was the first emperor. The dynasty gave its name to China.

       Quickies

       Did you know …

      • that Caesar (Julius Caesar and Augustus Caesar) is the root for the titles tsar (Russia), kaiser (Germany), and shah (Iran)?

       Which king was styled Emperor of Britain?

      King Edgar, one of the Saxon monarchs. Empire does not inherently mean a geographically large entity as it is used in popular parlance. It means independent of any other sovereignty. “This England is an Empire,” declared Henry VIII by statute. Kings were originally subordinate to emperors.

       Was the British monarch ever Emperor or Empress of the British Empire?

      Although there was a British Empire, there has not been a “British Emperor” or “Empress” since 1066, and the title has remained King or Queen. Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India, though, in 1877, and the title Emperor of India was borne by the next four monarchs — Edward VII, George V, Edward VIII, and George VI. India became a dominion under King George VI, and a republic before Elizabeth II came to the throne, so George VI was the last Emperor of India.

       What does the word king mean?

      King comes from the Old English word cyning. It means “scion of the kin” or “son of the kindred,” the kindred being sacral royalty who were seen as the kin of the gods. Cyning is connected with the Old Norse word konungr, a combination of kin and ung meaning “descendant.” The German word for king — kõnig — is also related and the Russian word for prince — kniaz — derives from konungr too. Everyone knows that the Latin word for king is rex. From the same root come other forms of the name: the Irish ri (ard-ri is “high king”), Hindu raja (maharaja means “great king”), French roi, Italia re, Spanish rey, and so on. Kingship is a world-wide phenomenon.

       What does queen mean?

      Queen can have two meanings. A “queen regnant” is a reigning monarch in her own right. A “queen consort” is the wife of a reigning king. In many European countries women could not reign, and in those where they now can, it took centuries for women to establish their right to do so.

       Ranks in British/Commonwealth Peerage

      • Duke/Duchess

      • Marquess/Marchioness

      • Earl/Countess

      • Viscount/Viscountess

      • Baron/Baroness

       Who was the first English monarch officially addressed as Your Majesty?

      King Henry VIII was the first to be so addressed. Prior to him, the monarchs were addressed as Your Grace, and Your Majesty was reserved for the emperor. Henry VIII asserted that England was subordinate to no other authority than himself so that it was an empire in law, although the title itself was not adopted.

       How did the term Britannic Majesty originate?

      It came out of the Jacobite Court of the exiled King James II at St. Germaine-en-Laye. Accustomed to hearing their host, King Louis XIV, referred to as “His Most Christian Majesty,” the Jacobites took to calling their master “His Britannic Majesty.” When it became known, the term was borrowed by the Hanoverian kings of the British Empire and became official.

       What is a pretender?

      The term pretender is incorrectly used to describe a former monarch or descendant of a dethroned house who seeks to be restored to the Crown. The proper term for such a person, however, is claimant, not pretender. The individual is asserting old rights, not making a pretense of something to which he is not entitled. Pretender is rightly applied to people such as Perkin Warbeck or the False Dimitry who were imposters. Misuse of the word pretender comes from its application to the exiled Stuart claimants, James III, Charles III, and Henry IX. The ambiguity attached to it led John Byrom to write his doggerel:

      God bless the King! — I mean the Faith’s Defender,

      God bless (no harm in blessing) the Pretender!

      But who Pretender is, or who is King,

      God bless us all! — that’s quite another thing.

       Who is the King or Queen of England?

      Nobody! Though beloved of the media, the title has not existed since 1707. Queen Anne (1701–1714) was the last Queen of England. With the union of England and Scotland, the titles King of England and King of Scotland disappeared. From then on the monarch was King or Queen of Great Britain. Elizabeth II is Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Queen of Canada, Queen of Jamaica, etc., but not Queen of England. England, of course, is part of her realm of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

       Some monarchs have been called “the Great.” What are some sobriquets that have been given to others?

      Many rulers have been given names denoting their physical characteristics, character traits (good and bad), and record as rulers. Here are some examples:

      • William “the Conqueror” (England)

      • Baldwin IV “the Leper” (Jerusalem)

      • Charles II “the Merry Monarch” (Britain/Commonwealth)

      • Iorweth “Flat-Nosed” (Wales)

      • William “the Silent” (Netherlands)

      • Robert “the Devil” (Normandy)

      • Leo VI “the Philosopher” (Byzantium)

      • Eochaid “the Venomous” (Scotland)

      • Aedh “the Lazy-Arsed Youth” (Ireland)

      • Maximilian I “the last of the Knights” (Holy Roman Empire)

      • Juana “the Mad” (Spain)

      • Abdul “the Damned” (Ottoman Empire)

      • Ivan “the Dread” (Russia)

      • Albert II “the Degenerate” (Germany)

      • Magnus VI “Law Mender” (Denmark)

      • Frederick “the Winter King” (Bohemia)

      • Mircea III “the Shepherd” (Valachia)

      • Alfonso XI “the Avenger” (Castile and Leon)

      • Carlos II “the Bewitched” (Spain)

      • Edward I “the English Justinian” (England).

       What near idolatrous terms were applied to Elizabeth I?

      Among them were the Sun Queen, Second Maid, Second Sun, Virgin Queen, Gloriana, Belphoebe, Sweet Cynthia, Deborah, Beauteous Queen of Second Troy, Monarch Maiden Queen, and Astraea.