Why Wasn't the British Empire Ruled by A British Emperor? (Short Animated Documentary)

Most empires are ruled by Emperors yet one of the notable exceptions was the British Empire which was led only by either Kings or Queens. And given that much smaller empires like that of the German or Austro-Hungarian Empires were run by emperors it makes sense to ask why the largest empire ever was not. To find out why watch this short and simple animated history documentary.

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[reiniervanderhulst]

The title Empress of India was Victoria's Secret.

[johnsMITHhhhhh]

Another reason Victoria wanted to be an emperor is because her daughter married the crown prince of Germany, and so would eventually be the empress of Germany, and thought it would be embarrassing for her to be outranked by her own daughter

[teutonictovarish]

Should be noted that the German Emperor was titled as just that. "German Emperor" rather than "Emperor of Germany". This was a specific decision by Bismarck to not offend the Austrians, as "Emperor of Germany" would imply total sovereignty over all germans rather than just the nation-state

[flynnmagnus]

Commenting until the british history series is continued

[ElladanKenet]

Disraeli: Do you want to be Empress of Jamaica?
Victoria: Meh

[kalyka]

Uk: India you are my most prestigious colony therefore i grant you a privilege no other british territory will ever have
India: Wow what privilege?
Uk: Having an absolute monarch

[agactual]

The British troops firing at people while holding a sign that says “Love us” made me laugh harder than I have in a long time. This channel’s comedy style is incredible.

[julianosvonskingrad]

It was mentioned slightly during this video but not very concretely: An Emperor is simply needed where Kings have to be governed over. The Byzantine Emperor existed because he saw himself as a formal King of those Kings who ruled a part of the former Roman Empire. The Austria-Hungarian Empire was simply a nation consisting of multiple nations, one with a King. If you have to outrank this King: An Emperor is needed. The most popular example for this system is the German Empire. There were dozens of Kings in this realm. The German Emperor had to be an Emperor - otherwise he would have never been the head of a nation with multiple Kings. Great Britain never had this issue in the first place. That made the rank slightly idiotic.

[icemanire]

The only title higher than Emperor is Bissonette.

[Welshman]

So Queen Victoria becomes Empress of India. She was Amused

[Zeruel]

Also part of the reason was that Victoria's eldest daughter Vicky had married the heir to the German Empire and she didn't like the idea of her daughter having an imperial title when she didn't

[nikhiliyengar]

"Empress of India, take it or leave it."

"What about everyone else?"

" _What about_ everyone else?"

[kamanashiskar]

Fun Fact: When the Prime Minister asked her to become the Empress of India, Queen Victoria also said why not just become the Empress of the British Empire, but Parliament said no and just told her to be the Empress of India.

[shinxxed]

History Matters: Giving answers to questions we never knew we wanted answered

[nicopavvi]

I like how queen Victoria was scared of being seen as an inferior by the other monarchs when probably her kingdom was the most powerful of Europe

[ReaverPrime]

I recently found your channel whilst helping my daughter study for history class. I have spent the last few days binging your entire backlog. I have to say, I like your style. Top shelf, lad.

[poesc]

Poor New Zealand,
It’s even left out of the map of British Colonies.

[bluefanofeverything]

A little suggestion: "Why didn't South Africa annex Lesotho?"

I mean, Lesotho is literally surrounded by South Africa

[TheManFromWaco]

To be considered an Emperor you need to rule over a large area composed of many different peoples and kingdoms.

Emperor of Japan: *sweats nervously*

[Sniperification]

I love how you have a simplistic yet quite accurate representation of every historic figure in the videos :)