According to Wikipedia, "After the nominal Mughal Emperor was deposed at the conclusion of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 ... [the UK Government] decided to transfer control of British India and its princely states from the mercantile East India Company (EIC) to the Crown, thus marking the beginning of the British Raj. The EIC was officially dissolved on 1 June 1874, and the British Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli, decided to offer Queen Victoria the title "Empress of India" shortly afterwards. Victoria gleefully accepted this prestigious style on 1 May 1876. The first Delhi Durbar (which served as an imperial coronation) was held in her honour eight months later on 1 January 1877".
The Royal Titles Act of 1876 made the title official.
Disraeli served two separate terms as Prime Minister: from February to December 1868, and from 1874 to 1880.
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