King-Emperor

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A king-emperor (feminine 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 (as in Austria-Hungary), but recognises that the two territories are different politically or culturally and in status (an emperor being higher in rank than a 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 king's prestige - such was the British monarchy, which, under Queen Victoria, gained Imperial status from the title Empress of India (However, Victoria was normally referred to as Her Majesty The Queen with the appellation Empress of India rather than Queen-Empress, although this title was sometimes used). In a similar manner, the Emperor of Austria also became King of Hungary in 1867. Both cases show that the merging of rule was not simply a case of annexation where one state is swallowed by another, but more of unification and equal status - the fact that an emperor is higher in rank than a king is compromised by the fact that it is placed second in the title.

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