Highness

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Highness (abbreviation HH, oral address Your Highness) is a formal style used to address (in second person) or refer to (in third person) certain members of a reigning or formerly reigning dynasty. It is typically used with a possessive adjective: "His Highness", "Her Highness" (HH), "Their Highnesses", etc. Although often combined with other adjectives of honour indicating rank, such as "Imperial", "Royal" or "Serene", it may be used alone.

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Highness is, both literally and figuratively, the quality of being lofty or above. It is used as a term to evoke dignity or honour, and to acknowledge the exalted rank of the person so described.

History in Europe

Abstract styles arose in profusion in the Roman Empire, especially in the Byzantine. [1] Styles were attached to various offices at court or in the state. [1] In the early Middle Ages such styles, couched in the second or third person, were uncertain and much more arbitrary, and were more subject to the fancies of secretaries than in later times. [2] [3]

In English usage, the terms Highness, Grace and Majesty, were all used as honorific styles of kings, queens and princes of the blood until the time of James I of England. [1] Thus in documents relating to the reign of Henry VIII of England, all three styles are used indiscriminately; an example is the king's judgment against Dr. Edward Crome (d. 1562), quoted, from the Lord Chamberlains' books, ser. I, p. 791, in Trans. Roy. Hist. Soc. N.S. lOX. 299, where article 15 begins with Also the Kinges Highness hath ordered, 16 with Kinges Majestie, and 17 with Kinges Grace. In the Dedication of the Authorized Version of the Bible of 1611, James I is still styled Majesty and Highness; thus, in the first paragraph: "the appearance of Your Majesty, as of the Sun in his strength, instantly dispelled those supposed and surmised mists ... especially when we beheld the government established in Your Highness and Your hopeful Seed, by an undoubted title". It was, however, in James I's reign that Majesty became the official style. [3]

Continental Europe

At the conclusion of the Congress of Vienna in 1815, His/Her Highness (abbreviated HH), became prevalent for reigning dukes and members of their dynasties in Germany (e.g., Anhalt, Brunswick, Nassau, the three Ernestine duchies of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Saxe-Meiningen, and Saxe-Altenburg, as well as Schleswig-Holstein); for cadets of some German grand ducal houses (e.g., Hesse, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Oldenburg, Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach); and cadet members of some imperial or royal families (e.g., Bavaria, Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Prussia, Russia, Yugoslavia). That custom remains official in the Danish, Dutch and Norwegian dynasties. The Almanach de Gotha and Burke's Peerage continued to ascribe Highness to members of deposed dynasties of ducal rank.

Among the nobility, the Almanach de Gotha notes that Highness was accorded to the heads of the families of Murat (a royal dynasty during the Napoleonic era), Hohenberg, Teck and all members of the House of Ligne.

The style was discontinued in the Danish royal family in 2023, having been applied to junior lines for many generations.

Example of official holders of the style Highness:

Modified forms

Usually members of an imperial or royal dynasty are addressed as Imperial Highness or Royal Highness (French Altesse Impériale, Altesse Royale; German Kaiserliche Hoheit, Königliche Hoheit; Spanish Alteza Imperial, Alteza Real, etc.) respectively.

Grand Ducal Highness was the treatment accorded cadet princes of those families of ruling grand dukes who did not simply use "Highness", viz. Baden.

While "Highness" (Hoheit) was used for rulers of German duchies, the sovereign Dukes of Modena and of Parma were heads of cadet branches of ruling dynasties of higher rank. They and their cadets therefore used the imperial or royal styles borne by members of those houses, respectively the royal House of Bourbon and the imperial House of Habsburg-Lorraine.

In modern times, Serene Highness (Altesse Sérénissime) is used as the equivalent of the German Durchlaucht. In the 17th century, it became the general style borne by the heads of the reigning princely states of the Holy Roman Empire (reichsständische Fürsten), as "Illustrious Highness ( Erlaucht ) became customary for those of the comital houses (reichsständische Grafen, i.e. Counts of the Empire). In 1825, the Imperial German Diet agreed to grant the style Durchlaucht to the heads of all mediatized princely houses domiciled in Germany elevated to the rank of Fürst are also styled Durchlaucht. In 1829, the style of Erlaucht, which had formerly been borne by the reigning Counts of the empire, was similarly granted to the mediatized countly families (Almanach de Gotha, 1909, 107). [3]

His Exalted Highness is a rare hybrid of the title style Highness. It is used as a salutation style only for the Nizams of Hyderabad and Berar conferred by the British Government. [6] [7]

Commonwealth realms

Highness was the style accorded to princes of the British royal family who were the male-line great-grandchildren of a British sovereign (and the wives/widows of great-grandsons), except the eldest son of the Prince of Wales. In 1917, George V revoked authorization for use of that style.

The children and grandchildren in the male-line of a British sovereign were and are addressed as Royal Highness (His or Her Royal Highness, abbreviated HRH), as are the children of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales (decree of 31 May 1898). [8] The sovereign has the right as a legal fons honorum to grant or revoke use of the style of Highness, as with other styles, titles and honours. [9]

Colonial use

Modern Islamic World

Royal Afghanistan

In Afghanistan the title Jalalat Mahab is used for Sardars, or Princes of the former Muhammadzai dynasty, who are descendants of the Afghan Emir Payindah Muhammad Khan Barakzai. Although Jalalat Mahab is derived from the Arabic term Jalalat literally meaning His Majesty, it is regarded as equal to His Highness internationally. A legal ground for it is a strengthened ius cogens within the Afghan royal family with gateways in the first written constitution of Afghanistan issued by Abdur Rahman Khan in year 1890 and amended by Amanullah Khan in year 1923. [10] [11]

Prince Daoud Khan, a member of the Telai cadet branch and Cousin of the last Afghan King Zahir Shah, acting as prime minister under his cousin held the address Jalalat Mahab Aali Qadr Sardari Alaa (English His Honorable Highness the sublime Prince) during his term as Prime Minister. [12]

After the constitution of 1964 that changed Afghanistan's state system from an absolute to a constitutional monarchy, the descendants of King Nadir Shah held the exclusive address as Alaa Hazrat in which context Hazrat is Turkish and means Majesty or Highness and thus literally translated means Higher Majesty or Higher Highness and is internationally also equal to His Royal Highness. Jalalat Mahab was still used for other cadet branches by customary law and in light of the law of royal expenses, based on Article 13 and 24 of the Royal Constitution of 1964. Cadet branches include: [13] [14]

The King himself held the title Alaa Hazrat Humayoon which literally translated means His Most Noble Majesty, and can be equalized with His Majesty internationally.

Despite the de facto fall of Barakzai leadership through the Soviet Invasion in year 1978, the address is until today still used out of courtesy.

Saudi Arabia

In Saudi Arabia, all members of the royal family have the title of Emir (Prince) but sons, daughters, patrilineal granddaughters and grandsons of Ibn Saud are referred to by the style "His Royal Highness" (HRH), differing from those belonging to the cadet branches who are styled as "His/Her Highness" (HH), and in addition to that a reigning king has the title of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques. [15] [16] [17]

The definition of the cadet branches has been legally defined in year 2000 by King Abdullah and includes the following: [18]

Republican and non-royal usage

Very rarely, the style of Highness or variations thereof have been used by non-monarchical heads of state, particularly before the 20th century, and often in cases where the distinction between monarchy and republic was blurred. For example, Oliver Cromwell and his wife were styled "Highness" upon his elevation to Lord Protector of the Commonwealth; he also enjoyed the style of by the Grace of God , was succeeded by his son, and had even been offered the throne. [1]

Spanish-speaking world

In the Spanish-speaking world, a handful of leaders historically enjoyed the official, if often ephemeral, style of Highness (Alteza) or variations thereof.

In Spain, Manuel Godoy, who twice served as Prime Minister from 1792 to 1797 and from 1801 to 1808, was granted the style of Most Serene Highness (Su Alteza Serenísima) in 1807 by King Charles IV. He had been created Principe de la Paz ("Prince of the Peace") in 1795, but the princely title did not carry the style of Highness on its own. The former style was possibly derived from the traditional Spanish honorific of Excelentísimo Señor (The Most Excellent).

Baldomero Espartero, Prince of Vergara, who was regent for Queen Isabella II from 1840 to 1843, and three times served as Prime Minister: in 1837, from 1840 to 1841, and from 1854 to 1856, was created Prince of Vergara with the exceptional (and not strictly non-royal) style of Royal Highness (Alteza Real)[ citation needed ] in 1872. Espartero had previously declined an offer to the throne following the Spanish Revolution of 1868, which instead went to the Italian Amadeo of Savoy, who in turn bestowed the royal princedom on him.

Furthermore, according to the provisions of Royal Decree 1368/1987 promulgated by King Juan Carlos I in 1987, a Regent of Spain is to enjoy the style of Highness (as well as protocolary honours equal to those of the Prince of Asturias), unless they were to possess rank conferring a higher style. [19]

During the short-lived Luz de America uprising of 1809 in modern-day Ecuador, the Junta de Gobierno Autónoma de Quito ("Autonomous Government Junta of [the Royal Audiencia of] Quito"), granted its president, Juan Pío de Montúfar, 2nd Marquis of Selva Alegre, the style of Most Serene Highness, while claiming for itself the collective dignity of " Majesty " (as it purported to be acting in the name of King Ferdinand VII). Selva Alegre's pseudo-monarchical government, which was formed following Napoleon's invasion of Spain in 1808 and lasted for a mere seventy-five days, was considered by both contemporaries and later historians to be a thinly-disguised effort to establish a "Kingdom of Quito"; Selva dressed himself in regal vestments, bestowed honours on citizens, and instituted the National Order of San Lorenzo (which was much later revived by Ecuadorian President Camilo Ponce Enríquez in 1959). [20]

Antonio López de Santa Anna, enjoyed the official style of Most Serene Highness during his eleventh and final tenure as President of Mexico for life from 1853 until his deposal in 1855. [21]

Elsewhere

United States

Shortly before the inauguration of George Washington as the first President of the United States, then-Vice President John Adams organised a congressional committee on the matter of the title and style of the President. There Adams agitated for the adoption of the style of Highness (as well as the title of Protector of Their [the United States'] Liberties) for the President. [22] Others favored the variant of Electoral Highness or the lesser Excellency, the latter of which was vociferously opposed by Adams, who contended that it was far beneath the presidential dignity, as the executives of the states, some of which were also titled "President" (e.g. the President of Pennsylvania), at that time often enjoyed the style of Excellency; Adams said that the President "would be levelled with colonial governors or with functionaries from German princedoms" if he were to use the style of Excellency. On further consideration, Adams deemed even Highness insufficient and instead proposed that the Executive, both the President and the Vice President (i.e., himself), be styled Majesty, with only which the "great danger" of insufficient dignity being attached to the executive could be solved. [22] Adams' efforts were met with widespread derision and perplexion; Thomas Jefferson called them "the most superlatively ridiculous thing I ever heard of", while Benjamin Franklin considered it "absolutely mad". [22] The proposal came to naught, and American Presidents, from Washington onwards, have eschewed honorific titles and styles altogether and are simply referred to as Mr. President .

Samoa

In modern-day Samoa, the O le Ao o le Malo, the Samoan head of state, has since the country's independence enjoyed the title of Highness, as do the heads of the four paramount chiefly dynasties. However, as all of the heads of state, elected by the Fono , the country's parliament (which is itself almost entirely composed of customary chiefs), since independence have been one of the four chiefs, it is ambiguous as to whether the country constitutes a parliamentary republic or a democratic elective monarchy.

Other Arab Countries

Emirs of Qatar, Kuwait and UAE also use the style of Your Highness.

Patrilineal descendants of former ruling Emirs of Iraq use His Highness for the head of the house [23]

African royalty commonly use "Highness" to refer to their junior dynasts. Some ranking monarchs also make use of the style. An example of the former is Princess Elizabeth Bagaya of the Tooro Kingdom in Uganda. An example of the latter is the princess' sister-in-law, Queen Best Kemigisa.

Other uses

Regardless of the official traditions in the various colonial empires, the style is evidently used to render, often merely informally, various somewhat analogous titles in non-western cultures, regardless whether there is an actual linguistic and/or historical link. Furthermore, in North America, some chiefs of certain indigenous tribes or nations use the style of Highness, which may or may not be recognised by their governments.

The Aga Khan was granted the style of His Highness by Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom in 1957 upon the death of his grandfather Aga Khan III. This has been a traditional gesture by British sovereigns since the Aga Khan III allied himself with Britain against Afghanistan.

Variations and precedence

While the actual precedence depends on the rank itself, and sometimes more specifically on the monarchy, rather than on the style of address, the holders tend to end up roughly in the following order of precedence:

See also

Related Research Articles

Styles represent the fashion by which monarchs and noblemen are properly addressed. Throughout history, many different styles were used, with little standardization. This page will detail the various styles used by royalty and nobility in Europe, in the final form arrived at in the nineteenth century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morganatic marriage</span> Type of marriage between people of unequal social rank

Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spouse, or any children born of the marriage. The concept is most prevalent in German-speaking territories and countries most influenced by the customs of the German-speaking realms.

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A style of office or form of address, also called manner of address, is an official or legally recognized form of address for a person or other entity, and may often be used in conjunction with a personal title. A style, by tradition or law, precedes a reference to a person who holds a post or political office, and is sometimes used to refer to the office itself. An honorific can also be awarded to an individual in a personal capacity. Such styles are particularly associated with monarchies, where they may be used by a wife of an office holder or of a prince of the blood, for the duration of their marriage. They are also almost universally used for presidents in republics and in many countries for members of legislative bodies, higher-ranking judges, and senior constitutional office holders. Leading religious figures also have styles.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Excellency</span> Honorific style

Excellency is an honorific style given to certain high-level officers of a sovereign state, officials of an international organization, or members of an aristocracy. Once entitled to the title "Excellency", the holder usually retains the right to that courtesy throughout their lifetime, although in some cases the title is attached to a particular office and is held only during tenure of that office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crown prince</span> Heir to the throne

A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wife of the person styled crown prince.

Royal Highness is a style used to address or refer to some members of royal families, usually princes or princesses. Kings and their female consorts, as well as queens regnant, are usually styled Majesty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British prince</span> Royal title in the United Kingdom

Prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a royal title normally granted to sons and grandsons of reigning and past British monarchs, together with consorts of female monarchs. The title is granted by the reigning monarch, who is the fount of all honours, through the issuing of letters patent as an expression of the royal will.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British princess</span> Princess of the United Kingdom

The use of the title of Princess of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is entirely at the will of the sovereign, and is now expressed in letters patent. Individuals holding the title of princess are styled "Her Royal Highness" (HRH). The current letters patent were issued in 1917 during the First World War, with one extension in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duke of Teck</span> Noble title

Duke of Teck is a title which was created twice in Germanic lands. It was first borne from 1187 to 1439 by the head of a cadet line of the German ducal House of Zähringen, known as the "first House of Teck". The seat of this territory was Castle Teck in the Duchy of Swabia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma</span> Prince consort of Luxembourg from 1919 to 1964

Prince Félix of Bourbon-Parma was the husband of Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg and the father of her six children, including her successor Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg. By birth to his father Robert I, Duke of Parma, he was a member of the House of Bourbon-Parma and one descendant of King Philip V of Spain. Prince Félix was the longest-serving consort of Luxembourg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Serene Highness</span> Style of address

His/Her Serene Highness is a style used today by the reigning families of Liechtenstein, Monaco and Thailand. Over the past 400 years, it has also used as a style for senior members of the family of Hazrat Ishaan, who are believed to succeed Prophet Muhammad based on the 1400 year old Sunni Sayyid ul Sadatiyya line of Imamate of Ahlul Bayt. Until 1918, it was also associated with the princely titles of members of some German ruling and mediatised dynasties and with a few princely but non-ruling families. It was also the form of address used for cadet members of the dynasties of France, Italy, Russia and Ernestine Saxony, under their monarchies. Additionally, the treatment was granted for some, but not all, princely yet non-reigning families of Bohemia, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania and Russia by emperors or popes. In a handful of rare cases, it was employed by non-royal rulers in viceregal or even republican contexts.

His or Her Grand Ducal Highness is a style of address used by the non-reigning members of some German ruling families headed by a Grand Duke. No currently reigning family employs the style, although it was used most recently by the younger sisters of the late Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg. Since Grand Duchess Charlotte's marriage to Prince Felix of Bourbon-Parma, all of their male-line descendants have used the style Royal Highness, which he bore.

The precedence of Thai royalty follows a system of ranks known as thanandon, which are accompanied by royal titles.

A cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons (cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets have historically been passed from a father to his firstborn son in what is known as primogeniture; younger sons, the cadets, inherited less wealth and authority to pass on to future generations of descendants.

Majesty is used as a manner of address by many monarchs, usually kings or queens. Where used, the style outranks the style of (Imperial/Royal) Highness, but is inferior to the style of Imperial Majesty. It has cognates in many other languages, especially of Europe.

Imperial and Royal Highness is a style possessed by someone who either through birth or marriage holds two individual styles, Imperial Highness and Royal Highness. His/Her Imperial Highness is a style used by members of an imperial family to denote imperial – as opposed to royal – status to show that the holder is descended from an emperor rather than a king or queen. Holders of the style Imperial Highness generally rank above holders of the style Royal Highness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barakzai dynasty</span> 1818–1978 ruling dynasty of Afghanistan

The Barakzai dynasty also known as the Muhammadzai dynasty ruled modern day Afghanistan from 1823 to 1978 when the monarchy ended de jure under Musahiban Mohammad Zahir Shah and de facto under his cousin Sardar Mohammad Daoud Khan. The Barakzai dynasty was established by Dost Mohammad Khan after the Durrani dynasty of Ahmad Shah Durrani was removed from power. As the Pahlavi era in Iran, the Muhammadzai era was known for its progressivist modernity in which Afghanistan was referred to as the "Switzerland of Asia".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">House of Bourbon-Parma</span> Cadet branch of the House of Bourbon-Anjou

The House of Bourbon-Parma is a cadet branch of the Spanish royal family, whose members once ruled as King of Etruria and as Duke of Parma and Piacenza, Guastalla, and Lucca. The House descended from the French Capetian dynasty in male line. Its name of Bourbon-Parma comes from the main name (Bourbon) and the other (Parma) from the title of Duke of Parma. The title was held by the Spanish Bourbons, as the founder Philip, Duke of Parma was the great-grandson of Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma. The House of Bourbon-Parma is today the Sovereign House of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (agnatically) and all members of the Grand Ducal Family of Luxembourg are members of the House of Bourbon-Parma with the title of "Princes/Princesses" and the predicate of Royal Highness.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Pine, L.G. (1992). Titles . New York: Barnes & Noble, Inc. pp.  36, 69, 92, 94, 104, 148–149. ISBN   978-1-56619-085-5.
  2. ↑ Selden, Titles of Honor, part I, Ch. vii. p. 100
  3. 1 2 3 Wikisource-logo.svg One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain :  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Highness". Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 13 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 456.
  4. ↑ "His Highness Prince Sverre Magnus". Monarchy of Norway . Retrieved 30 April 2011.
  5. ↑ "Top 100 in line to the throne". Channel 4. 27 March 2009.
  6. ↑ "Making money the royal way ! - Economic Times". Archived from the original on 14 July 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  7. ↑ "'His Exalted Highness' to be staged today". The Hindu. 2007-03-14.
  8. ↑ "Crown Office". The London Gazette (60384): 213. 8 January 2013.
  9. ↑ British Royal Family Website. The Queen and Honours. The Royal Household. Buckingham Palace. accessed 5 February 2019.
  10. ↑ Encyclopedia Iranica in Constitutional History of Afghanistan
  11. ↑ Adamek in Who is Who in Afghanistan
  12. ↑ Mir Assadullah Sadat in Alqab Dowalti
  13. ↑ "Afghanistan's Constitution of 1964" (PDF). Constitute.
  14. ↑ Christopher Buyers in Royal Ark, Afghanistan
  15. ↑ Amos, Deborah (1991). "Sheikh to Chic". Mother Jones. p. 28. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  16. ↑ "Saudi Arabia: HRH or HH? - American Bedu". 7 August 2016. Archived from the original on 7 August 2016.
  17. ↑ "Family Tree". datarabia.com. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  18. ↑ Washington institute in "After King Abdullah" https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/media/3420
  19. ↑ "Real Decreto 1368/1987, de 6 de noviembre, sobre régimen de títulos, tratamientos y honores de la Familia Real y de los Regentes". Boletín Oficial del Estado. Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado. p. 33717. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  20. ↑ Pimentel, Rodolfo Perez. "Juan Pío Montúfar y Larrea". diccionariobiograficoecuador.com. Diccionario Biográfico del Ecuador. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  21. ↑ Sible, Randy. "The Life of Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna: Savior, Emperor, President, and Dictator". Latin American Studies. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  22. 1 2 3 Hutson, James H. (March 1968). "John Adams' Title Campaign". The New England Quarterly. 41 (1): 30–39. doi:10.2307/363331. JSTOR   363331.
  23. ↑ Batatu, H (1978). The Old Social Classes and the Revolutionary Movements of Iraq. Princeton University Press.
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