Imperial Majesty

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Imperial Majesty (His/Her Imperial Majesty, abbreviated as HIM) is a style used by Emperors and Empresses. It distinguishes the status of an emperor/empress from that of a King/Queen, who are simply styled Majesty. Holders of this style have sometimes been observed to follow religious leaders who are styled "His Holiness" in public ceremonies.

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King-Emperors and Queen-Empresses sometimes have used the style Imperial and Royal Majesty (e.g., The Empress Frederick's style Her Imperial and Royal Majesty The German Empress and Queen of Prussia).

Although the Crown of England was defined as an "imperial" crown during the reign of Henry VIII under the Ecclesiastical Appeals Act 1532, [1] [a] he adopted the style "Majesty". [3] British monarchs used the title Emperor/Empress of India from 1876 to 1948. [4] But despite bearing an imperial title, they did not use the style "Imperial Majesty", which Benjamin Disraeli called "clumsy periphrasis". [5]

The last Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, also used the style of "Imperial Majesty". Today, the style is assumed by Farah Pahlavi, the exiled Shahbanu of Iran.

Incongruously, in modern times the Emperor of Japan rarely uses the style of "Imperial Majesty", instead preferring the simpler style of "Majesty". This is despite the imperial titles still used by the rest of the imperial household. [6]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ In William Blackstone's 1765 Commentaries on the Laws of England , he explained that "the meaning therefore of the legislature, when it uses these terms of empire and imperial, and applies them to the realm and crown of England, is only to assert that our king is equally sovereign and independent within these his dominions, as any emperor is in his empire; and owes no kind of subjection to any other potentate on earth." [2]

References

  1. ↑ Johnston, W. Dawson; Johnston, Jean Browne, eds. (1896). English Historical Reprints. Michigan: Sheehan & Co. p. 32. Archived from the original on 1 July 2024. Retrieved 23 July 2024.
  2. ↑ Kitson Clark, G. (1967). An Expanding Society. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 63.
  3. ↑ "Royal Styles and the uses of "Highness"". Heraldica. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  4. ↑ "No. 38330". The London Gazette . 22 June 1948. p. 3647.
  5. ↑ Benjamin Disraeli, Prime Minister (9 March 1876). "Royal Titles Bill—Bill 83". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . Vol. 227. United Kingdom: House of Commons. ...there would be no clumsy periphrasis of the kind. The Majesty of England requires for its support no such epithet. The Queen is not 'Her Royal Majesty.' The Queen is described properly as 'Her Majesty.' Therefore, the 'clumsy periphrasis' of 'Royal and Imperial Majesty' could never occur.
  6. ↑ "Personal Histories". The Imperial Household Agency. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
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