NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Highness

Highness, often used with a personal possessive pronoun (His/Her/Your Highness, the first two abbreviated HH) is an attribute referring to the rank of the dynasty (such as Royal Highness, Imperial Highness) in an address. It is literally the quality of being lofty or high, a term and style used, as are so many abstractions, as a style of dignity and honor, to signify exalted rank or station. // Nobility is a traditional hereditary status (see hereditary titles) that exists today in many countries (mainly present or former monarchies). ... // For other uses, see Dynasty (disambiguation). ... A style of office, or honorific, is a form of address which by tradition or law precedes a reference to a person who holds a title or post, or to the political office itself. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Alexander Hamilton defending his honor by obliging to duel Aaron Burr. ...

Western and European tradition

Abstract styles arose in great profusion in the Roman Empire, especially in the Byzantine continuation. Currently such styles can be subject to confusion, as their meaning was affected by inflation and devaluation, but at any given time they were rather rigidly ruled by imperial commands, rendering the official hierarchy of offices; for example at the time of the Notitia dignitatum, the highest offices were grouped in classes, each awarded a characteristic title on top of every functional one, the highest being Illustris, next Spectabilis, et cetera. Like other exorbitant and swelling attributes of the time, the higher styles were conferred on imperial and ruling foreign princes generally as well as attached to various offices at court and/or in the state (military, financial, judiciary and various other, often combined, central and provincial administrations), clarifying the protocollary hierarchy (often deviating from the political reality, though). The Roman Empire is the name given to the city-state of Rome and also the corresponding phase of that civilization, characterized by an autocratic form of government. ...

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 (Selden, Titles of Honor, part I, Ch. vii. 100). Justinians wife Theodora and her retinue, in a 6th century mosaic from the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna. ...

In English usage, the terms Highness, Grace (which is not used exclusively for the sovereign), and Majesty, were all used as honorific styles of Kings and Queens until the time of James I of England. 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. f562), 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. It may be noted that Oliver Cromwell, as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth, and his wife, were styled Highness, which is unusual for a republic. His Grace or Her Grace was the style used to address the monarch of Scotland up to the Act of Union of 1707, which merged the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland. ... Look up majesty in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Majesty is an English word rooting in the Latin Maiestas, meaning literally, Greatness. ... James VI and I (James Stuart) (June 19, 1566 â€“ March 27, 1625) was King of Scots, King of England, and King of Ireland and was the first to style himself King of Great Britain. ... For other meanings see Henry VIII (disambiguation). ... The Lord Chamberlain or Lord Chamberlain of the Household is one of the chief officers of the Royal Household in the United Kingdom, and is to be distinguished from the Lord Great Chamberlain, one of the Great Officers of State. ... Oliver Cromwell (April 25, 1599â€“September 3, 1658) was an English military and political leader best known for making England a republic and leading the Commonwealth of England. ... Lord Protector is a particular English title for Heads of State, with two meanings (and full styles) at different periods of history. ...

In present usage the following members of the British Royal Family normally have the right to be addressed as Royal Highness (HRH, His or Her Royal Highness): The children of past and present Sovereigns, the grandchildren in the male-line and the eldest son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales (decree of 31 May 1898). A change of sovereign does not entail the forfeiture of the style of Royal Highness. However, the sovereign has the right to grant or revoke the style of HRH and other titles.

As a general rule, the members of the blood royal of an Imperial or Royal house are addressed as Imperial or Royal Highness (French Altesse Imperiale, Altesse Royale; German Kaiserliche Hoheit, Königliche Hoheit etc.) respectively.

In Germany, Austria (and other former parts of the Holy Roman Empire) the reigning heads of the Grand Duchies bear the title of Royal Highness (Königliche Hoheit), while other members of the family are simply addressed as Grand Ducal Highness or Highness (Großherzogliche Hoheit or Hoheit). Hoheit is borne by the reigning dukes and the princes and princesses of their families. The double-headed eagle A portrait of Charlemagne wearing the crown of the Holy Roman Empire (15th century painting by Albrecht DÃ¼rer) The Holy Roman Empire was a mainly Germanic conglomeration of lands in Central Europe during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. ...

The style Serene Highness has also an antiquity equal to that of highness, and were titles borne by the Byzantine rulers, and serenitas and serenissimus by the Emperors Honorius and Arcadius. The Doge of Venice was also styled Serenissimus (Latin 'Most Serene'), the crowned republic and the (later Austrian, then Italian) city itself remain widely known as (la) Serenissima. Selden (op. cit. part II. ch. X. 739) calls this style one of the greatest that can be given "to any Prince that hath not the superior title of King". In modern times Serene Highness (Altesse Sérénissime) is used as the equivalent of the German Durchlaucht, a stronger form of Erlaucht, illustrious, represented in the Latin honorific superillustris- Thackerays burlesque title Transparency in the ficticious court at Pumpernickel very accurately gives the meaning. The style of Durchlaucht was granted in 1375 by the Emperor Charles IV to the electoral princes (Kurfürsten), the highest rank under the Roman Emperor). See: Flavius Augustus Honorius, western Roman emperor 395-423 Saint Honorius, archbishop of Canterbury 627-655 Pope Honorius I, pope 625-638 Pope Honorius II, pope 1124-1130 Pope Honorius III, pope 1216-1227 Pope Honorius IV, pope 1285-1287 Antipope Honorius II, 1061-1064 This is a disambiguation page... Arcadius, holding a labarum, defeating an enemy. ... Charles IV, the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV (May 14, 1316 – 29 November 1378), of the House of Luxembourg, King of the Romans (as Charles (Karl) IV, 1368 – 1378), Holy Roman Emperor (Charles IV, 1355 – 1378), King of Bohemia (Charles (Karel) I 1346 – 1378), Count of... The prince-electors or electoral princes of the Holy Roman Empire â€” German: KurfÃ¼rst ( listen? - singular), KurfÃ¼rsten (plural) â€” were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Emperors of Germany. ...

In the 17th century it became the general style borne by the heads of the reigning princely states of the empire (reichstandische Fürsten), as Erlaucht by those of the countly houses (reichstandische 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 or Austria, and it is now customary to use it of the members of those houses. Further, all those who are elevated to the rank of Fürst (prince in the *secondary meaning of that title) 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). FÃ¼rst (plural FÃ¼rsten) is a German title of nobility, usually translated into English as Prince; however this translation can be misleading, since a FÃ¼rst usually ranks below a Duke. ... The Almanach de Gotha was a directory of Europes nobility first published in 1763 at the ducal court of Friedrich III of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (which included the city of Gotha). ...

His Highness, often abbreviated HH, is a style for members of ducal families, some grand ducal families, and lesser members of some royal families. The third case is the only usage of the style that is still used officially. However, socially, many formerly-reigning ducal and grand ducal families assume the style HH, but this is only used socially and they are not normally referred to as such in any official capacity.

The style is officially used by junior members of the royal houses of Denmark and the Netherlands. Before 1917, it was also used by some junior members of the British royal house. The style was also once used by the ruling families of the Grand Duchies of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Oldenburg, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, and Mecklenburg-Strelitz, and of the Duchies of Brunswick, Anhalt, Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Saxe-Meiningen, and Saxe-Altenburg, as well as by the House of Schleswig-Holstein, which never ruled. Surviving members of these families are sometimes known by the style. Year 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ... The Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (Herzogtum Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach) was created in 1809 by the merger of the Ernestine duchies of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach, which had been in personal union since 1741, when the Saxe-Eisenach line had died out. ... Oldenburg is a historical state in todays Germany named for its capital, Oldenburg. ... Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a Duchy (from 1815 a Grand Duchy) in northeastern Germany, formed by a partition of the Duchy of Mecklenburg. ... Mecklenburg-Strelitz was a duchy in northern Germany, roughly consisting of the present day district of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (the historical Stargarder Land), bordering areas of modern-day Brandenburg with the town of Fürstenberg and the area around Ratzeburg in modern Schleswig-Holstein. ... Brunswick-Lüneburg was an historical state within the Holy Roman Empire. ... Anhalt is a historical region of Germany, which is now included in the state of Saxony-Anhalt. ... Capitals Coburg and Gotha Head of State Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Saxe-Coburg and Gotha or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (German: Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha) served as the name of the two German duchies of Saxe-Coburg and Saxe-Gotha in Germany, in the present-day states of Bavaria... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the 16 Bundesländer in Germany. ...

Examples of people who have assumed the style Highness: His Highness Prince Maurits Willem Pieter Hendrik of Orange-Nassau, van Vollenhoven (born 17 April 1968), is the eldest son of HRH Princess Margriet of the Netherlands and Mr Pieter van Vollenhoven. ... Her Royal Highness Princess Margriet Francisca of the Netherlands (born January 19, 1943), Princess of Orange-Nassau, Princess of Lippe-Biesterfeld, is the third daughter of Princess Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard, the former Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. ... Pieter van Vollenhoven (born April 30, 1939) is the husband of HRH Princess Margriet of the Netherlands. ... Queen Juliana Juliana Louise Emma Marie Wilhelmina, Duchess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, (April 30, 1909 - March 20, 2004) of the House of Orange-Nassau was Queen of the Netherlands from her mothers abdication in 1948 to her own abdication in 1980 and Queen Mother (with the title of Princess) from... Queen Beatrix (I) of the Netherlands (born as Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard van Oranje-Nassau, Prinses der Nederlanden, Prinses van Oranje-Nassau, Prinses van Lippe-Biesterfeld) (born January 31, 1938), has been the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands since April 30, 1980. ... His Highness Prince Nikolai of Denmark (Nikolai William Alexander Frederik) (b. ... Prince Joachim of Denmark (Joachim Holger Valdemar Christian), born 7 June 1969, is the younger son of Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. ... Princess Alexandra Christina of Denmark, Countess of Frederiksborg (nÃ©e Alexandra Christina Manley), born 30 June 1964, is a member of the Danish Royal House. ... Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II (Margrethe Alexandrine Ãžorhildur Ingrid), styled HM The Queen (born April 16, 1940), is the Queen regnant and head of state of Denmark. ...

Prince Andreas of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (Andreas Michael Friedrich Hans Armin Siegfried Hubertus) (born March 21, 1943) has been the Head of the Ducal Family of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha since 1998. ... Saxe-Coburg-Gotha or Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (German: Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha) was once the name given to the two German duchies of Saxe-Coburg and Saxe-Gotha in Germany, in the present states of Bavaria and Thuringia, which were in personal union between 1826 and 1918. ... Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the 16 Bundesländer in Germany. ...

African Usage

Colonial use

A princely state or native state was a feudal monarchy in British India ruled by a hereditary ruler, who was nominally sovereign. ... The British East India Company, sometimes referred to as John Company, was a joint-stock company of investors, which was granted a Royal Charter by Elizabeth I on December 31, 1600, with the intent to favour trade privileges in India. ... REGENTSCHAP is the Dutch word for Regency, in the sense of the (term of) office of a Regent. ...

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.

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 precendence:

In 1876 Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom was amongst the mightiest rulers, but by protocol was accorded precedence below the Austrian, German and Russian Emperors (the 'three eagles'), and in particular would be outranked by her eldest daughter, married to the heir to the less powerful German Empire. This was a consideration for Parliament to raise the Sovereign in precedence by creating the new title of Emperor/Empress of India, in chief of the British crown's position as Paramount ruler of British India, as such the colonial successor to the Mughal dynasty which had the imperial style Padshah-i-Hind. However, the British sense of tradition led to the old royal style in chief of the European UK remaining the lead title, the short formula being King-Emperor, not the inverse. Imperial and Royal Highness (in German:Kaiserliche und kÃ¶nigliche Hoheit) 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 (abbreviation HIH) is a title used by members of an Imperial family to denote Imperial - as opposed to royal - status to show that the holder in question is descended from an Emperor rather than a King (compare His/Her Royal Highness). ... HRH is an acronym for His Royal Highness or Her Royal Highness. ... (His) Princely Highness is the English rendering of (Zijne) Vorstelijke Hoogheid, a very rare style of address awarded by the colonial authorities of the Dutch East Indies (present Indonesia) to very few major Sultans on Java. ... Sultanic Highness was a rare, hybrid western-Islamic honorific style, exclusively used by the son, daughter-in-law and daughters of Sultan Husain Kamil of Egypt (a British protectorate since 1914), who bore it with their primary titles of Prince (Arabic Amir, Turkish Prens) or Princess, after 11 October 1917. ... HGDH is an acronym for His Grand Ducal Highness or Her Grand Ducal Highness. ... Exalted Highness was a rare hybrid of the style highness. ... Highness, often used with a personal possessive pronoun (His/Her/Your Highness, the first two abbreviated HH) and/or an adjective referring to the rank of the dynasty (e. ... Ducal Serene Highness is a style used by members of certain ducal families, such as those of Nassau. ... HSH is an acronym for His Serene Highness or Her Serene Highness. ... HSH is an acronym for His Serene Highness or Her Serene Highness. ... Illustrious Highness is the English-language form for a style used by various members of the European aristocracy. ... His Eminence is a historical style of address for high nobility. ... Grand Master is the typical title of the supreme head of various military orders of knighthood, a type of religious order including the Knights Templar, a class of sectarian order such as the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Orange Order, but who in the case of a sovereign order such... The Knights Hospitaller (also known as Knights of Rhodes, Knights of Malta, Cavaliers of Malta, and the Order of St. ... FÃ¼rst (plural FÃ¼rsten) is a German title of nobility, usually translated into English as Prince. The female form is FÃ¼rstin (plural FÃ¼rstinnen). ... A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually a bishop, of the Roman Catholic Church, a member of the College of Cardinals which as a body elects a new pope. ... Queen Victoria, see Queen Victoria (ship). ... Motto: Gott mit Uns (German: God with usâ€) Anthem: Heil dir im Siegerkranz (unofficial) Territory of the German Empire in 1914, prior to World War I Capital Berlin Language(s) Official: German Unofficial minority languages: Polish (Posen, Lower Silesia,Upper Silesia, Masuria) French (Alsace-Lorraine) Government Constitutional monarchy Emperor - 1871... The Houses of Parliament, seen over Westminster Bridge The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories. ... The term Paramount Ruler, or sometimes Paramount King, is a generic description, rarely an actual title, for a number of rulers position in relative terms, as the summit of a feudal-type pyramid of rulers of lesser polities (such as vassal princes) in a given historical and geographical context, often...

Contents

Western and European tradition

African Usage

Colonial use

Other uses

Variations and Precedence

See also

Sources and References