The Empress of India Medal, also referred to as KIH Medal, was a commemorative medal awarded to mark the occasion of the proclamation of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

Empress of India Emperor or Empress of India was a title used by British monarchs from 1 May 1876 (with the Royal Titles Act 1876) to 22 June 1948, that was used to signify their rule over British India, as its imperial head of state. Royal Proclamation of 22 ...

in 1877. It was the first wearable medal issued to mark a commemorative occasion within the British Empire. The medal was awarded in gold to Indian princes and senior officials and in silver to selected British and Indian military officers and civilians, as well as one soldier from each British and Indian regiment serving in India at the time of the proclamation celebrations of the 1877

Delhi Durbar The Delhi Durbar ( lit. "Court of Delhi") was an Indian imperial-style mass assembly organized by the British at Coronation Park, Delhi, India, to mark the succession of an Emperor or Empress of India. Also known as the Imperial Durbar, it was ...

History

The first official medals to commemorate the coronation of a British sovereign were distributed in 1547, marking the coronation of King

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. Edward was the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour and the first E ...

. These medals were medallions or commemorative coins, not intended for wear. The first official medal, commemorating a royal occasion, which could be worn, was the Empress of India Medal. This medal marked the occasion of the proclamation at the

of Queen Victoria as Empress of India on 1 January 1877.

Appearance

The medal was made in both

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

and

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

. It measures in diameter, nearly 20 mm more than a campaign medal.
The

obverse Obverse and its opposite, reverse, refer to the two flat faces of coins and some other two-sided objects, including paper money, flags, seals, medals, drawings, old master prints and other works of art, and printed fabrics. In this usage, ''o ...

of the medal depicts the

diadem A diadem is a type of crown, specifically an ornamental headband worn by monarchs and others as a badge of royalty. Overview The word derives from the Greek διάδημα ''diádēma'', "band" or "fillet", from διαδέω ''diadéō'', "I ...

effigy An effigy is an often life-size sculptural representation of a specific person, or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certai ...

of Queen Victoria, wearing a veil which falls over the back of the head and neck. Around the beaded edge of the medal is inscribed ''Victoria 1st January 1877''.
The reverse bears the inscription ''Empress of India'' in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, ''Hind-ka-Kesar'' in Hindustani, and ''Qai''s''ar-e-Hind'' in

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

. Around the edge is a repeating decorative design.
It was issued unnamed, although some medals were later engraved privately. It was worn on a ribbon around the neck. The ribbon is crimson, with thin yellow stripes at the edges.

Award criteria

The medal was awarded in gold to Indian princes and senior officials, and in silver to selected British and Indian officers and civilians, as well as a selected soldier from each British and Indian regiment serving in India at the time. The medal was not permitted to be worn by officers and soldiers of the British and Indian armies in uniform, although it was frequently worn by Indian princes and civilians.

Award ceremony

During the Durbar proclaiming Victoria Empress of India, the

Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...

, arrayed in the robes of the Grand Master of the

Order of the Star of India The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes: # Knight Grand Commander (GCSI) # Knight Commander ( KCSI) # Companion ( CSI) No appointments ...

, received each of the 63 ruling princes of India in turn, he:

Recipients

Jung Bahadur Rana Maharaja Jung Bahadur Kunwar Ranaji, (born Bir Narsingh Kunwar ( ne, वीर नरसिंह कुँवर), 18 June 1817; popularly known as Jung Bahadur Rana (JBR, ne, जङ्गबहादुर राणा)) () belonging to the ...

Vijaya Mohana Muktamba Bai Vijaya Mohana Muktamba Bai Ammani Raje Sahib Chhatrapati CI (1846 – 31 January 1885) or Vijaya Mohana Mutumbar Bai as per British records, was a member of the Marathi Bhonsle royal family who succeeded Shivaji as the ruler of the princely ...

Sultan Jahan, Begum of Bhopal Hajji, Hajjah Nawab Begum (Queen) Sultan Jahan (9 July 1858 – 12 May 1930) was the ruling Begum of Bhopal between 1901 and 1926. Biography Early life Sarkar Amman known better as Sultan Jahan, was born at Bhopal, the elder and only survivi ...

* Seth Baldeo Dass Sarda of Punjab * Bhagvatsinhji *

Sayajirao Gaekwad III Sayajirao Gaekwad III (born Shrimant Gopalrao Gaekwad; 11 March 1863 – 6 February 1939) was the Maharaja of Baroda State from 1875 to 1939, and is remembered for reforming much of his state during his rule. He belonged to the royal Gae ...

Raghubir Singh Jind Maharaja Raghubir Singh (1832 – 7 March 1887) was a Maharaja of Jind State of the Phulkian dynasty who reigned from 1864 to 1887. Early life Singh was born at Bazidpur in 1832, the younger of two sons of Swarup Singh of Jind. In 1848, he ...

Kasturchand Daga Diwan Bahadur Sir Seth Kasturchand Daga, KCIE (1855-1917) was a businessman, landlord, philanthropist, and a pioneer who had conceptualised and implemented the hub-and-spoke model of trade. He was from Nagpur. He was made Knight Commander of t ...

Kalb Ali Khan Hajji Nawab Kalb Ali Khan Bahadur (1832 – 23 March 1887) was a Nawab of the princely state of Rampur from 1865 to 1887. Succeeding his father, Sir Nawab Yusef Ali Khan Bahadur, he continued his father's good works, expanding the Rampur ...

Mahboob Ali Khan Asaf Jah VI, also known as, Sir Mir Mahboob Ali Khan Siddiqi Bayafandi (17 August 1866 – 29 August 1911) was the 6th Nizam of Hyderabad. He ruled Hyderabad state, one of the Princely states in India between 1869 and 1911. Early life Mahboo ...

Muhammad Mushtaq Ali Khan Nawab Muhammad Mushtaq Ali Khan Bahadur, (1856-25 February 1889) was a Nawab of the princely state of Rampur from 1887 to 1889, succeeding his father Sir Nawab Kalb Ali Khan Bahadur. Owing to continued ill-health, he was unable to properly rule ...

Khengarji III Maharajadhiraj Mirza Maharao Sir Khengarji III Sawai Bahadur (23 August 1866 – 15 January 1942) was a progressive and one of the longest ruling monarchs of a dependent state and also the longest ruling king of the Princely State of Cutch ...

Ranodip Singh Kunwar Ranaudip Singh Bahadur Kunwar Ranaji (alternatively spelled Rana Uddip, Renaudip or Ranoddip), KCSI (3 April 1825 – 22 November 1885), commonly known as Ranodip Singh Kunwar ( ne, रणोद्दिप सिंह कुँवर) was th ...

Hira Singh Nabha Hira Singh (18 December 1843 – 24 December 1911) was the ruler of Nabha State, one of the Phulkian states in the Punjab. Early life Hira Singh was born at Badrukhan, Jind, on 18 December 1843 , the second son of Sukha Singh (died 1852), fro ...

Nripendra Narayan Maharaja Nripendra Narayan (4 October 1862 – 18 September 1911) was the Maharaja of the princely state of Cooch Bihar, India, from 1863 to 1911. Early life Nripendra Narayan was only ten months old when his father, Narendra Narayan, died in ...

Ramachandra Tondaiman Raja Sri Brahdamba Dasa Raja Ramachandra Tondaiman Bahadur (20 October 1829 – 15 April 1886) was the ruler of princely state of Pudukkottai from 13 July 1839 to 15 April 1886. Early life Ramachandra Tondaiman was born in Pudukkottai on 20 ...

Chandra Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana Field-Marshal Maharaja Sri Teen Chandra Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana (8 July 1863 – 26 November 1929) was the Prime Minister of Nepal from the Rana dynasty. He served in this capacity from 27 June 1901 to his death in 1929, after he successfully ...

Jayajirao Scindia Jayajirao Scindia GCB, GCSI, CIE (19 January 1834 – 20 June 1886) of the Scindia dynasty of the Marathas was the ruling Maharajah of Gwalior under the British rule from 1843 to 1886. Early life Jayajirao was born as Bhagirath Shinde, son ...

Shivaji VI Shivaji VI(April 05, 1863 – December 25, 1883) of the Bhonsle dynasty, was Raja of Kolhapur from 1871 to 1883. A distant relation of the main family line, he was born as Shrimant Narayanrao Dinkarrao Bhonsle and was adopted at the age of eig ...

Pratap Singh of Jammu and Kashmir Maharaja Sir Pratap Singh (18 July 1848 – 23 September 1925) was the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir, and head of the Jamwal Rajput clan. He was succeeded as Maharaja by his nephew, Hari Singh, in 1925. Succession Jammu and Kashmir was a ...

Jaswant Singh of Bharatpur Maharaja Jashwant Singh ( hi, महाराजा जशवन्त सिंह, links=no) (1851-1893) was the ruler of the princely state of Bharatpur from 1853 to 1893 in Rajasthan, India. His successor was Maharaja Ram Singh. Early ...

Lakshmeshwar Singh Maharaja Sir Lakshmeshwar Singh, Maharaja of Darbhanga (25 September 1858 – 16 November 1898) was the Zamindar and principal landowner of Darbhanga in the Mithila region, presently in the State of Bihar, India. His philanthropic works, admin ...

Rameshwar Singh Rameshwar Singh Thakur (16 January 1860 – 3 July 1929) was the Maharaja of Darbhanga in the Mithila region from 1898 to his death. He became Maharaja on the death of his elder brother Maharaja Sir Lakshmeshwar Singh, who died without issue. ...

Ranbir Singh of Jammu and Kashmir Ranbir Singh (August 1830 – 12 September 1885) was Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir from 1856 until his death in 1885. Ranbir Singh was the third son of Gulab Singh, the founder of the Jammu and Kashmir state. Ranbir Singh ascended the t ...

* Shah Jahan Begum * Visakham Thirunal *

Ayilyam Thirunal Ayilyam Thirunal Rama Varma (1832–1880) was the ruler of the princely state of Travancore in India from 1860 to 1880. His reign was highly successful with Travancore gaining the appellation of "model state of India". Ayilyam Thirunal was th ...

References

External links

= Empress of India Medal 1877 Information.
OMSA Medal Database
= Empress of India Medal, 1877, gold.
OMSA Medal Database
= Empress of India Medal, 1877, silver.
OMSA Medal Database {{Commonwealth Coronation and Jubilee medals Orders, decorations, and medals of British India Awards established in 1877 Awards disestablished in 1877 1877 establishments in British India Queen Victoria