Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 133, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 June 1910 — LEAST IMPOSING TITLE OF ANY. [ARTICLE]

LEAST IMPOSING TITLE OF ANY.

Belongs to the Monarch ot the Greatest Kingdom on Earth. Most of the crowned heads of Europe revel in a multiplicity of styles and dignities, but apart from mere peerages the ruler of the mightiest empire the world has ever seen has to be content with the simple formula: “Edward VII., by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British Dominions Beyond the Seas, King Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India.” Even in these titles the reference to the Britons over seas was added only on the present King's accession, and the style of Emperor of India was conferred on the British sovereign late in Queen Victoria’s reign. Queen Victoria was crowned simply “Of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Queen, Defender of the Faith,” though on some of the early coinage of her reign—the north, for instance—she is styled “By the Grace of God of all the Britains Queen, Defender of the Faith”—a fine, dignified and comprehensive style. Besides his regal appellation the King has of course many lesser titles, but even these are not nearly so numerous as in the case of most foreign potentates. When one turns to other monarchs the list appears very trivial, the German Emperor, for instance, enjoying the luxury of 75 subordinate titles, the King of Spain 42, the Emperor of Austria 61 and the Sultan of Turkey 82.

The Sultan of Turkey’s various styles are somewhat amusing to the western mind. He is, of course, SulTan and Kha-Khan (high prince and lord of lords) to start with; then he claims sovereignty over most districts, towns, cities and states in the east, specifying each by name and setting out with great deliberation in each of his various titles, "all the forts, citadels, purlieus and neighborhood thereof,” in regular legal form, and finally his ofiicial designation ends, "Sovereign also of divers other nations, states, peoples and races on the face of the earth.” All this is of course in addition to his high position as “Head of the Faithful" and “Supreme Lord of all the Followers of the "Direct and Only Lieutenant on Earth of Mohammed.”