Empire Rising: Spain

The news of Princess Sofia’s birth reignited Spain, but did not cause as much of a sensation as Prince Juan Fernando.

This was normal, after all, Juan Fernando is Carlo’s eldest son and the future heir to the Spanish throne, attracting attention from foreign governments and high-level authorities was quite usual.

Although Sofia’s identity is equally noble, she is, after all, just a princess, and only a few royal families from Italy, Austria-Hungary, and some countries with blood ties to Spain sent congratulations.

Compared to the birth of Spanish Princess Sofia, European countries were clearly more focused on Queen Victoria’s coronation as Empress of India.

As early as May 1876, the United Kingdom had already reached this conclusion, and Queen Victoria had formally become Empress of India, acquiring the title of Emperor.

Becoming an emperor certainly requires a coronation ceremony, and since it was for the Indian throne, the coronation ceremony could only be held in India.

The British had initially been worried about the Balkans issue, but after waiting for several months without Russia showing any intention to participate, they were completely relieved.

The British Government decided to hold Queen Victoria’s coronation ceremony on the first day of the new year in India, placing the crown of the Indian Empire upon Britain’s queen.

Though the Indian throne may seem somewhat self-serving, the self-serving party was nonetheless Britain’s ruler, Queen Victoria, and the countries had to show some respect.

However, within the United Kingdom, the public clearly held two completely opposite attitudes toward this Indian crown.

A small booklet titled "The Queen’s Blemish" had over ninety thousand copies sold in a short period, and this booklet attacked Prime Minister Disraeli using cartoons, mocking him as a Jew with strong Orientalist thoughts.

In the cartoon, Disraeli appeared in the image of Aladdin, urging Queen Victoria to accept the crown of Empress of India.

The attitude of this booklet was also quite clear, asserting that Queen Victoria did not need an additional imperial crown, as the term "Empress" easily evokes thoughts of autocratic monarchy, contrasting with the constitutional monarchy maintained by the British Government.

Another booklet drew similar conclusions, with parliament members and the British public generally believing: the crown and the outcome of the Act would damage the principles of Britain’s monarchy; the title of the Indian throne was a lie.

The title of Empress of India was imperial, opposing British monarchy, an autocratic, arbitrary decision that placed personal rights above the public, making personal whims legally enforceable, an extremely erroneous decision.

The opposition party further leveraged the empress’s accession to challenge the ruling Conservative Party, arguing that the Conservative Party completely ignored the needs of the public, trapped in its own political promotion’s specter. Some extreme opponents even branded the ruling Conservative Party as a dictatorship party advocating absolutism.

Even the renowned British newspaper "The Times" expressed its opposition and criticism, considering the coronation as Empress of India as a manifestation of Queen Victoria’s arrogance, betraying the principles of the British constitution.

John F. Dickinson openly stated that the title Act was completely Queen Victoria’s personal will undermining the collective will, with the empress’s title legally defining India’s subordination to Britain, exacerbating the tension between India and Britain.

Moreover, this would legally define the British Empire’s move towards a new round of expansion, which most Britons were unwilling to see. The consequence of the Act elevating personal demands above public interest would destroy the British Empire.

He believed that the fewer and simpler Britain’s governing principles over India, the better the result. During a time of imperial prosperity, policies towards India should be more restrictive.

The cartoon "New Crown, Old Queen" also became a hot topic of discussion among the British Government and citizens, inducing more sensation than Queen Victoria’s coronation itself.

The fundamental reason for causing widespread opposition among officials and democrats was still the public’s focus on the word "authority."

The British Empire possessed colonies far exceeding other countries in scale, yet the relationship between the colonies and the British Empire wasn’t entirely one of submission and loyalty.

The United States was once a British colony but later chose independence. This represents a fact: the citizens of colonies aren’t fully loyal to the British Empire, they hold their own considerations regarding the British Empire.

Under such circumstances, whether Queen Victoria’s coronation as Empress of India would arouse discontent among multiple colonies including the Indian colony was a question British officials and parliament members needed to consider.

Does the authority of the British Empire and Queen Victoria override the colonies? Does the British Empire have complete control over the colonies? Should the control over the colonies be increased?

These questions are also pivotal for discussion among Britain’s two major parties and multifaceted parliament members, causing nationwide sensation.

Nonetheless, it was apparent that mere discussions couldn’t sway Queen Victoria herself.

From the inability of opposing parliament members to halt the passage of the Act, it was obvious that both Prime Minister Disraeli and Queen Victoria were inclined to see the British Empire control the Indian throne.

On January 1, 1877, Queen Victoria’s coronation as Empress of India formally took place in India.

Despite numerous voices of opposition domestically, the British Government still attached considerable importance to this coronation ceremony.

Prime Minister Disraeli personally attended the coronation, the Indian Colonial Government had prepared a grand ceremony site and a large number of performers for the queen.

Regardless of the Indians’ reaction to Queen Victoria’s coronation, on the day of Queen Victoria’s coronation, more than a hundred thousand Indians enthusiastically celebrated Queen Victoria’s accession, even loudly hailing, "Long live Her Majesty the Empress!"

For the lively scenes prepared by the Indian Colonial Government, Queen Victoria was more than satisfied. Coronation as empress fulfilled one of her wishes, and she looked at the Indian Governor with very satisfied and approving eyes.

Regarding Queen Victoria’s coronation, Carlo did not pay much attention. This throne was, instead, a blemish for Queen Victoria, having or not having the throne did not add anything to Queen Victoria.

Without the Indian throne, Queen Victoria was one of the greatest monarchs in British history, founding the most glorious era of the British Empire, the Victorian Era, which was also the golden period when the British Empire dominated the world.

Fortunately, this blemish wasn’t too severe and wouldn’t impact Queen Victoria’s reputation domestically in Britain.

Compared to Queen Victoria’s throne, Carlo was more interested in the development of the Balkan situation.

The British Government deigned to hold the coronation precisely because Russia hadn’t made significant moves in the Balkan Peninsula.

War on the Balkan Peninsula was still a conflict between the Ottoman Empire and several nations striving for independence, with Russia currently in an undercover support stage.

Through telegraph exchange with Franz Joseph I, Carlo also confirmed one belief: the United Kingdom and Austria-Hungary underestimated Russia’s ambition in this Balkan War.

The British Empire arrogantly believed Russia wouldn’t initiate war against the Ottoman Empire when the British Empire clearly supported the Ottoman Empire, and this was why Britain reduced attention to the Balkan Peninsula.

After all, the current war had the Ottoman Empire already gaining the upper hand, Serbia and Montenegro clearly weren’t opponents of the Ottoman Empire.

This explains why, historically, Russia quickly defeated the Ottoman Empire after launching war and achieved victory.

Because the British Empire and Austria-Hungary hadn’t prepared much, they could only resort to diplomacy after the war to threaten Russia into yielding part of the spoils, ensuring they didn’t suffer excessive losses.