Lese majesty, leze majesty, or lèse majesté (from the Latin Laesa maiestatis, injury to the Majesty) is the crime of violating majesty, an offense against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state. Majesty is an English word rooting in the Latin Maiestas, meaning literally, Greatness. ... A monarch (see sovereign) is a type of ruler or head of state. ...

This was however first classified in Ancient Rome, as a criminal offense against the dignity of the Roman republic. In time, as the Emperor became identified with the Roman state (the empire never formally became a monarchy), it was essentially applied to offenses against his person. Though legally the princeps civitatis (his official style, roughly 'first citizen') could never become a sovereign, as the republic was never abolished, emperors were to be deified as divus, first posthumously but ultimately while reigning, and thus enjoyed the legal protection provided for the divinities of the pagan state cult; by the time it was exchanged for Christianity, the monarchical tradition in all but name was well established (a fine example of the way the Roman religion was made to serve the political elite). The Roman Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Ancient Roman polity in the centuries following its reorganization under the leadership of Octavian (better known as Caesar Augustus), until its radical reformation in what was later to be known as the Byzantine Empire. ... Latin for god or divine figure. ...

In the (mainly Christian) states emerging after the fall of Rome the style of Majesty and the notion of offenses against it were exclusively related to offenses against the crown. In feudal Europe, various real crimes were classified as lese majesty even though not intentionally directed against the crown, such as counterfeiting because coins bear the monarch's effigy and/or coat of arms.

However, since the disappearance of absolute monarchy, this is viewed as less of a crime, although similar, more malicious acts, could be considered treason. By analogy, as modern times saw republics emerging as great powers, a similar crime may be constituted, though not under this name, by any offense against the highest representatives of any state ( e.g. all heads of state, regardless of their title, as in Belgium). A monarchy, (from the Greek monos, one, and archein, to rule) is a form of government that has a monarch as Head of State. ... In law, treason is the crime of disloyalty to ones nation. ...

Few counties still prosecute lese majesty. One exception is Thailand, where social activists like Sulak Sivaraksa were charged with the crime in the 1980s and '90s because they criticized the state. Sulak Sivaraksa (Thai สุลักษณ์ ศิวรักษ์, born March 27, 1933 in Thailand) is founder and director of the Thai NGO Sathirakoses-Nagapradeepa Foundation“. Besides being the initator of a number of social, humanitarian, ecological and spiritual movemnts and organizations in Thailand, like the College SEM (Spirit in Education Movement) Sulak Sivaraksa...

In the United States and most western democracies, verbal attacks on public officials are protected by the right of free speech, as long as they are not accompanied by threats of violence. Freedom of speech is the right to freely say what one pleases, as well as the related right to hear what others have stated. ...