Highness
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Highness (abbreviation HH, oral address Your Highness) is a formal
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,
Continental Europe
At the conclusion of the
Among the nobility, the Almanach de Gotha notes that Highness was accorded to the heads of the families of
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:
- HM Queen Juliana of the Netherlands, and nephew of HM Queen Beatrix. Upon his mother's marriage, it was decreed that her children would be known as HH Prince(ss) <name> of Orange-Nassau, Van Vollenhoven.
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
In modern times,
His Exalted Highness is a rare hybrid of the title style Highness. It is used as a salutation style only for the
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
- In the British Empire, the style (His) Highness became reserved for the elite of the feudatory dynastic heads of the major princely states (mainly in India and other territories—as on the Persian Gulf coast—once under the East India Company).
- In various other empires, such as the Dutch East Indies (see List of regencies and cities of Indonesia), a similar system was introduced.
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]
After the
- Telai, descendants of Sultan Mohammed Khan, including Prince Daoud Khan
- Seraj, descendants of Dost Mohammed Khan
- and Shaghasi, descendants of other children of Payindah Muhammad Khan
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
The definition of the cadet branches has been legally defined in year 2000 by King Abdullah and includes the following:[18]
- Al Jiluwi, descendants of Prince Jiluwi bin Turki al Saud acting as closest allies to King Abdul Aziz against Saud Al Kabeer in 1903
- Al Kabeer, descendants of Saud Al Kabeer, who allied with King Abdul Aziz against the Rashidi State
- Al Thunayan Al Mishari and Al Farhan, who descend from brothers of the dynastic founder Muhammad bin Saud al Muqrin
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
In Spain,
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
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
Samoa
In modern-day
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]
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:
- His/Her Imperial and Royal Highness (HI&RH)
- His/Her Imperial Highness (HIH)
- His/Her Royal Highness (HRH)
- His/Her Grand Ducal Highness (HGDH), used by junior members of the houses of Luxembourg, Grand Ducal Hesse, and Baden
- His/Her Highness (HH)
- His/Her Exalted Highness (HEH), used only by the Nizam of Hyderabad, the pre-eminent Indian princely ruler
- His/Her Sultanic Highness (HSH), a rare, hybrid western-Islamic honorific style, exclusively used by the son, daughter-in-law and daughters of Sultan Hussein Kamel of Egypt
- His/Her Ducal Serene Highness (HDSH)
- Cardinal(Prince of the Church).
- His/Her Most Serene Highness(HMSH)
- His/Her Serene Highness (HSH)
- His/Her Illustrious Highness (HIll.H)
- His/Her Tribal Highness (HTH), a rare hybrid of Highness exclusively used by Amghar Mohammed Ameziane, Prince of the Rif and direct descendants.
See also
References
- ^ ISBN 978-1-56619-085-5.
- ^ Selden, Titles of Honor, part I, Ch. vii. p. 100
- ^ a b c public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Highness". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 13 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 456. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
- ^ "His Highness Prince Sverre Magnus". Monarchy of Norway. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
- ^ "Top 100 in line to the throne". Channel 4. 27 March 2009.
- ^ "Making money the royal way ! - Economic Times". Archived from the original on 14 July 2012. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
- ^ "'His Exalted Highness' to be staged today". The Hindu. 2007-03-14.
- ^ "Crown Office". The London Gazette (60384): 213. 8 January 2013.
- ^ British Royal Family Website. The Queen and Honours. The Royal Household. Buckingham Palace. accessed 5 February 2019.
- ^ Encyclopedia Iranica in Constitutional History of Afghanistan
- ^ Adamek in Who is Who in Afghanistan
- ^ Mir Assadullah Sadat in Alqab Dowalti
- ^ "Afghanistan's Constitution of 1964" (PDF). Constitute.
- ^ Christopher Buyers in Royal Ark, Afghanistan
- ^ Amos, Deborah (1991). "Sheikh to Chic". Mother Jones. p. 28. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
- ^ "Saudi Arabia: HRH or HH? - American Bedu". 7 August 2016. Archived from the original on 7 August 2016.
- ^ "Family Tree". datarabia.com. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
- ^ Washington institute in "After King Abdullah" https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/media/3420
- ^ "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.
- ^ Pimentel, Rodolfo Perez. "Juan Pío Montúfar y Larrea". diccionariobiograficoecuador.com. Diccionario Biográfico del Ecuador. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
- ^ Sible, Randy. "The Life of Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna: Savior, Emperor, President, and Dictator". Latin American Studies. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
- ^ JSTOR 363331.
- ^ Batatu, H (1978). The Old Social Classes and the Revolutionary Movements of Iraq. Princeton University Press.