The German phrase kaiserlich und königlich (, Imperial and Royal), typically abbreviated as k. u. k., k. und k., k. & k. or Hungarian: cs. és k. (in all cases the "und" is always spoken unabbreviated), refers to the Court of the Habsburgs in a broader historical perspective (see below). Some modern authors restrict its use to the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. During that period, it indicated that the Habsburg monarch reigned simultaneously as the Emperor of Austria and as the King of Hungary, while the two territories were joined in a real union (akin to a two-state federation in this instance). The acts of the common government, which only was responsible for the Imperial & Royal ("I&R") Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the I&R Ministry of War and the I&R Ministry of Finance (financing only the two other ministries), were carried out in the name of "His Imperial and Royal Majesty" and the central governmental bodies had their names prefixed with k. u. k.
Read more about Imperial And Royal: Symbolic Employment of und or u., Other Uses
Famous quotes containing the words imperial and/or royal:
“If you are ambitious of climbing up to the difficult, and in a manner inaccessible, summit of the Temple of Fame, your surest way is to leave on one hand the narrow path of Poetry, and follow the narrower track of Knight-Errantry, which in a trice may raise you to an imperial throne.”
—Miguel De Cervantes (1547–1616)
“Dearest dealer,
I with my royal straight flush,
love you so for your wild card,
that untamable, eternal, gut-driven, ha-ha
and lucky love.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)