1-150-767 - The Cartoon Collector/Heritage-Images

'Empress and Earl', 1876. The Conservative Prime Minister, Disraeli, accepts the title of Earl of Beaconsfield from Her Majesty, Queen Victoria. At the beginning of 1876, he had been instrumental in pushing the Royal Titles Bill through parliament, a Bill that gave Victoria the new title of Empress of India. So, one good turn deserved another. Disraeli had previously been offered a title, which he had refused. He had more recently been offered a dukedom, which he had also refused. From Punch, or the London Charivari, August 26, 1876.