Posted by Cabri
on 10/6/2009, 7:42:01, in reply to "Belgian titles"
77.87.224.100
The title of the French Emperors is indeed Emperor of the French. The title is highly symbolic and a break with the French Royal tradition. Napoleon I and III indicated that they were rulers of peole and not of a country, that tehy did not own a country. If I remember correctly the full title was "by the Grace of God and the Constitution"... the message is quite clear here. Often the German Emperors (1871-1918) are called Emperor of Germany but there title was German Emperor, King of Prussia. That was an important difference.
--Previous Message--
: I've been reading with interest all the
: threads below on the oddity of the princely
: titles for Belgian kings and queens.
: Correct me if I'm mistaken, but does it have
: to do with the technicality that the
: sovereign is -- strictly speaking -- not
: "The King/Queen of Belgium" but
: rather, "The King/Queen of the
: BELGIANS"?
:
: Some time ago, on another royal message
: board, the question of this significance
: came up -- i.e. the subtle differences
: between the two types of royal sovereign
: titles. I, too, had wondered why (say) the
: reigning Danish monarch is known as the
: Queen of Denmark -- as opposed to Queen of
: the Danes. By contrast, a French royal
: sovereign (House of Orleans, prior to
: deposition) was called "King of the
: French" -- not "King of
: France".
:
: However, I believe that a French imperial
: sovereign (House of Bonaparte) was indeed
: called "Emperor of France" -- not
: "Emperor of the French."
:
: Apparently the title "King of the
: French (or Belgians, Hellenes, etc.)"
: is more democratic than "King of France
: (or Belgium, Greece, etc)."
:
: So perhaps it's not a contradiction to call
: Albert II "King of the Belgians"
: AND (at the same time) "Prince of
: BELGIUM."
:
:
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