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Highness, often used with a personal possessive pronoun (His/Her/Your/Their Highness(es), the first two abbreviated HH) is an attribute referring to the rank of the dynasty (such as Royal Highness, Imperial Highness) in an address. Nobility is a government-privileged title which may be either hereditary (see Hereditary titles) or for a lifetime A dynasty is a succession of rulers who belong to the same family for generations A style of office, or honorific, is a term which by Tradition or Law precedes a reference to a person who holds a post or Title, or to the 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 honour, to signify exalted rank or station. This brief article is about how the term dignity is used The article presents dignity as it is used by international organizations governments bioethicists academics and Honor or Honour (see spelling differences) (the latter directly from the Latin word honos honoris) is the evaluation of a person's

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Western and European tradition

Abstract styles arose in great profusion in the Roman Empire, especially in the Byzantine continuation. The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial 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).

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. The Early Middle Ages is a period in the History of Europe following the fall of the Western Roman Empire spanning roughly five centuries from AD 500 vii. 100).

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. His Grace or Her Grace was the style used to address the King or Queen of Scotland up to the Act of Union of Majesty is an English word derived ultimately from the Latin Maiestas, meaning Greatness. James VI and I (19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625 was King of Scotland as James VI, and King of England and King of Ireland as James 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. Henry VIII (28 June 1491 &ndash 28 January 1547 was King of England and Lord of Ireland, later King of Ireland and claimant to the Kingdom of f562), quoted, from the Lord Chamberlains' books, ser. 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 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. Oliver Cromwell (25 April 1599 Old Style &ndash 3 September 1658 Old Style) was an English military and political leader best known Lord Protector is a particular British 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 (e. g. , Princess Royal).

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; Spanish Alteza Imperial, Alteza Real, 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). The Holy Roman Empire ( HRE; German Heiliges Römisches Reich (HRR, Latin Sacrum Romanum Imperium (SRI was a union of territories in Hoheit is borne by the reigning dukes and the princes and princesses of their families.

The style Serene Highness has an antiquity equal to that of highness, and was a title borne by the Byzantine rulers, as were serenitas and serenissimus by the Emperors Honorius and Arcadius. Honorius may refer to Honorius (emperor (Flavius Augustus Honorius western Roman emperor 395-423 Honorius of Canterbury (Saint Honorius Flavius Arcadius (377/378&ndash May 1, 408) was Byzantine Emperor in the Eastern half of the Roman Empire from 395 until his death 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- Thackeray's burlesque title Transparency in the fictitious 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). Charles IV ( Czech: Karel IV, German: Karl IV, Hungarian: IV Károly; 14 May 1316 &ndash The Prince-Electors (or simply Electors) of the Holy Roman Empire ( German: Kurfürst ( pl

In the 17th century it became the general style borne by the heads of the reigning princely states of the empire (reichsständische Fürsten), as Erlaucht by 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 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. (plural Fürsten) is a German title of nobility, usually translated into English as Prince. 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). The Almanach de Gotha, was a respected directory of Europe's highest Nobility and Royalty.

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. The Kingdom of Denmark ( ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊ (archaic ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊ commonly known as Denmark, is a country in the Scandinavian region of northern Europe The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Before 1917, it was also used by some junior members of the British royal house. Year 1917 ( MCMXVII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year 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. 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 Oldenburg ( Low German: Ollnborg) is a historical state in today's Germany named for its capital Oldenburg. Mecklenburg-Schwerin was a Duchy (from 1815 a Grand duchy) in northern Germany, formed by a partition of the Duchy of Mecklenburg. Mecklenburg-Strelitz was a Duchy and later Grand duchy in northern Germany, roughly consisting of the present day district of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Brunswick (Braunschweig was a historical state in Germany. Originally the territory of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel in the Holy Roman Empire, it was established Anhalt is a historical County (after 1806 Duchy) in central Germany, located between the Harz Mountains and the river Elbe Saxe-Coburg and Gotha or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha served as the name of the two German duchies of Saxe-Coburg and Saxe-Gotha in The Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen was one of the Saxon Duchies held by the Ernestine line of the Wettin Dynasty Saxe-Altenburg (Sachsen-Altenburg was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the Wettin dynasty is the northernmost of the 16 ''Bundesländer'' in Germany. The former English name was Sleswick-Holsatia the Danish name is Surviving members of these families are sometimes known by the style.

Example of official holders of the style Highness:

Examples of other people entitled to the style Highness:

African usage

Colonial use

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.

In Samoa the heads of the two paramount chieftain carry the title Highness. Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa, is a country governing the western part of the Samoan Islands Archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean Both the current and previous Heads of State were titles High Highness.

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:

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. Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901 was from 20 June 1837 the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The German Empire is the name commonly used in English to describe Germany from 1871 to 1918 when it was a semi- Constitutional monarchy: beginning with the Unification 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. 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 though occasionally also used as an actual title for a number of rulers' position in relative 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.

See also

Sources and references

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. The use of Honorifics ( Mr, Mrs, Miss, Ms) and styles ( HRH, His Holiness, etc Monsignor, pl monsignori is the form of address for those members of the Clergy of the Catholic Church holding certain Ecclesiastical Sire is a form of address for reigning Kings in the United Kingdom and in Belgium. The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition (1910–1911 is a 29-volume reference work that marked the beginning of the Encyclopædia Britannica The public domain is a range of abstract materials &ndash commonly referred to as Intellectual property &ndash which are not owned or controlled by anyone

Dictionary

highness

-noun

  1. the state of being high

Highness

-noun

  1. (with His, Her or Your) The title, and the form of address of a prince, princess or someone of equivalent rank.
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