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 .
49-511: When used as a direct form of address, spoken or written, it takes the form Your Royal Highness . When used as a third-person reference, it is gender-specific ( His Royal Highness or Her Royal Highness , both abbreviated HRH ) and in plural, Their Royal Highnesses ( TRH ). By the 17th century, all local rulers in Italy adopted the style Highness , which was once used by kings and emperors only. According to Denis Diderot 's Encyclopédie ,
98-555: A prince and princess with the HRH prefix. After the death of Queen Elizabeth II , both children became entitled to the HRH style and the title of Prince and Princess respectively. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex confirmed their children would use those titles in March 2023. On 18 January 2020, Queen Elizabeth II announced that Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, would no longer use
147-515: A Prince/Princess of the Netherlands is addressed as "His/Her Highness" without the predicate "royal". That is the case for example of the children of Princess Margriet, younger daughter of the late Queen Juliana. Finally, members of the royal house or former members of the royal house within three months of loss of their membership may be also inducted by royal decree into the Dutch nobility with
196-474: A crown princely title, is not automatically hereditary. It generally requires a specific conferral by the sovereign, which may be withheld. Current and past titles in this category include: Currently, the following monarchies use the term "crown prince" (or "crown princess") for the heirs apparent to their thrones: In addition, the following heirs apparent to deposed monarchies continue to use their former titles by international courtesy: In Islamic tradition,
245-412: A different title from an heir apparent : hereditary prince (German: Erbprinz , French: prince héréditaire ). It is also the title borne by the heir apparent of Liechtenstein , as well as the heir apparent or presumptive of Monaco . In Luxembourg , the heir apparent bears the title of hereditary grand duke ( German : Erbgroßherzog , Luxembourgish : ierfgroussherzog ); along with hereditary prince, it
294-479: A lesser extent. In many languages, the verb takes a form dependent on the person of the subject and whether it is singular or plural. In English , this happens with the verb to be as follows: Other verbs in English take the suffix -s to mark the present tense third person singular, excluding singular 'they'. In many languages, such as French , the verb in any given tense takes a different suffix for any of
343-495: A member of the royal family, but is a member of the peerage . When Edward VIII abdicated the throne in 1936 he was granted the style and title, HRH The Duke of Windsor. The woman he then married became the Duchess of Windsor , but she was denied the style HRH. Edward for much of the rest of his life attempted unsuccessfully to persuade the crown to grant her the style. According to letters patent issued by King George V in 1917,
392-474: A more topical third person, and obviative for a less topical third person. The obviative is sometimes called the fourth person. In this manner, Hindi and Bangla may also categorize pronouns in the fourth, and with the latter a fifth person. The term fourth person is also sometimes used for the category of indefinite or generic referents, which work like one in English phrases such as "one should be prepared" or people in people say that... , when
441-637: A more specific substantive title may be accorded and become associated with the position of heir apparent (e.g. Prince of Wales in the United Kingdom , Prince of Asturias in the Kingdom of Spain and formerly the Dauphin in France ). In these monarchies, the term crown prince may be used less often than the substantive title (or never). Until the late twentieth century, no modern monarchy adopted
490-411: A new Zosimli Naa, HRH Naa Ife Bell was enskinned at a colorful ceremony. In contrast to some other European kingdoms, the kingdom of Denmark reserves the superior style of Royal Highness only to the children of the monarch and the children of the crown prince . The title of Archduke or Archduchess of Austria was known to be complemented with the style of Royal Highness for all non-reigning members of
539-423: A rank lower than prince/princess and, generally, the accompanying style of "His/Her Highborn Lord/Lady". That is the case for example of the children of the younger brother of King Willem-Alexander, Prince Constantijn , who were given the titles of "Count/Countess of Orange-Nassau" and the honorific predicate of "Jonkheer/Jonkvrouw van Amsberg", both hereditary in the male line. In Norway the style of Royal Highness
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#1732782893189588-412: A system whereby females would be guaranteed to succeed to the throne (i.e. absolute primogeniture ). A crown princess would therefore be more likely to refer to the spouse of a crown prince. She would be styled crown princess, not in her own right but by courtesy . Many European countries have now abolished male primogeniture; a notable exception is Spain. Today, in monarchies lower than royal rank
637-482: Is reserved for the children of the monarch and the eldest child of the heir apparent. Other children of the heir apparent have the style Highness , e.g. Prince Sverre Magnus of Norway . In Spain , the prince or princess of Asturias , his or her spouse and the infantes of Spain bear the style of Royal Highness. The infantes are the children of the monarch and the children of the prince or princess of Asturias. Their spouses are not infantes by marriage and do not bear
686-544: Is the T–V distinction . Some other languages have much more elaborate systems of formality that go well beyond the T–V distinction, and use many different pronouns and verb forms that express the speaker's relationship with the people they are addressing. Many Malayo-Polynesian languages , such as Javanese and Balinese , are well known for their complex systems of honorifics ; Japanese , Korean , and Chinese also have similar systems to
735-448: Is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy . The female form of the title, crown princess , is held by a woman who is heir apparent or is married to the heir apparent. Crown prince as a descriptive term has been used throughout history for the prince who is first-in-line to a throne and is expected to succeed (i.e. the heir apparent), barring any unforeseen future event preventing this. In certain monarchies,
784-469: The Church of Sweden . Three of the sisters of King Carl XVI Gustaf were granted honorary titles of Princess (without nationality) when they married commoners but lost their Royal Highness status, as did two of his uncles earlier in the 20th century. In October 2019, the grandchildren of King Carl XVI Gustaf retained the titles of Prince or Princess but lost the style of Royal Highness , except for
833-642: The House of Habsburg and later the House of Habsburg-Lorraine . Even though the Habsburgs held the Imperial crown of the Holy Roman Empire , it was nominally an elective office that could not be hereditarily transmitted, so the non-reigning family members adopted the style of members of the hereditary Royal family of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia, etc. This changed when Francis I of Austria dissolved
882-599: The Nigerian traditional rulers of the Yoruba are usually styled using the HRH The X of Y method, even though they are confusingly known as kings in English and not the princes that the HRH style usually suggests. The chiefly appellation "Kabiyesi" (lit. He (or She) whose words are beyond question ) is likewise used as the equivalent of the HRH and other such styles by this class of royalty when rendering their full titles in
931-515: The Succession to the Crown Act 2013 . The eldest living child of a monarch is sometimes not the heir apparent or crown prince, because that position can be held by a descendant of a deceased older child who, by "right of representation", inherits the same place in the line of succession that would be held by the ancestor if he or she were still living (for example, Carl Gustaf, Duke of Jämtland
980-540: The Yoruba language . Furthermore, the wives of the king of the Zulu peoples , although all entitled to the title of queen , do not share their husband's style of Majesty but instead are each addressed as Royal Highness , with the possible exception of the great wife . Another example, The Zosimli Naa is a female chieftaincy title in Ghana . The first Zosimli was Her Royal Highness , Naa Dr. Susan J Herlin. In 2022,
1029-533: The papacy and Andorra , the eldest son or (more recently) eldest child of the current monarch fills the role of crown prince or princess, depending upon whether females of the dynasty enjoy personal succession rights . Male precedence has been abolished in Belgium , Denmark , Luxembourg , Norway , Sweden and the Netherlands , as well as in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms pursuant to
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#17327828931891078-709: The Holy Roman Empire in 1806, as the Archduchy of Austria was elevated to an Empire in 1804; the members of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine abandoned the style of Royal Highness in favour of the style of Imperial and Royal Highness to reflect the creation of the Empire of Austria. At the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the former empress Marie Louise of France was restored to her Imperial and Royal style and granted
1127-496: The Holy Roman Empire in 1806, several of Germany's prince-electors and other now sovereign rulers assumed the title of grand duke and with it, for themselves, their eldest sons and consorts, the style of Royal Highness (Baden, Hesse, Mecklenburg, Saxe-Weimar). The vast majority of African royalty that make use of titles such as prince , chief and sheikh , eschew the attendant styles often encountered in Europe. Even in
1176-407: The Netherlands" with the accompanying style of HRH is or may be granted by law to the following classes of persons: A separate title of "Prince/Princess of Orange-Nassau" may be granted by law to members of the Dutch royal house or, as a personal and non-hereditary title to former members of the royal house within three months of loss of membership. A Prince/Princess of Orange-Nassau who is not also
1225-492: The Prince of Wales. Queen Elizabeth II changed this in 2012 prior to the birth of Prince George so that all children of the eldest living son of the Prince of Wales would bear the style, returning to the position Queen Victoria had instituted in 1898. There is no mention of younger living sons of a Prince of Wales, as a result of which the children of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex , Archie and Lilibet , were not automatically
1274-415: The cases of the aforesaid titles, they usually only exist as courtesies and may or may not have been recognised by a reigning fons honorum . However, some traditional leaders and their family members use royal styles when acting in their official roles as representatives of sovereign or constituent states, distinguishing their status from others who may use or claim traditional titles. For example,
1323-557: The children of the Crown Princess Victoria. Sons, daughters, patrilineal grandsons and granddaughters of Ibn Saud are referred to by the style "His/Her Royal Highness" (HRH), differing from those belonging to the cadet branches , who are called " His/Her Highness " (HH) and in addition to that a reigning king has the title of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques . In British constitutional law , use of
1372-469: The decisive factor in dynastic succession, a person may not possess the title or status of crown prince by right of birth, but may obtain (and lose) it as a result of an official designation made on some other legal or traditional basis, such as former crown prince Hassan bin Talal of Jordan . Compare heir apparent and heir presumptive . In Scandinavian kingdoms, the heir presumptive to the crown may hold
1421-781: The distinction is between the speaker ( first person ), the addressee ( second person ), and others ( third person ). A language's set of pronouns is typically defined by grammatical person. First person includes the speaker (English: I , we ), second person is the person or people spoken to (English: your or you ), and third person includes all that are not listed above (English: he , she , it , they ). It also frequently affects verbs , and sometimes nouns or possessive relationships. In Indo-European languages , first-, second-, and third-person pronouns are typically also marked for singular and plural forms, and sometimes dual form as well ( grammatical number ). Some other languages use different classifying systems, especially in
1470-519: The grammar treats them differently from ordinary third-person forms. The so-called "zero person" in Finnish and related languages, in addition to passive voice , may serve to leave the subject-referent open. Zero person subjects are sometimes translated as "one", although in tone it is similar to English's generic you " Ei saa koskettaa " ("Not allowed to touch", "You should not touch"). Crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince
1519-529: The hereditary title of king or queen. The titles of family members of non-hereditary rulers (e.g., the Holy Roman Emperor , King of Poland , Princes of Moldavia and Wallachia —and even the kin of the Princes of Orange who held hereditary leadership though not monarchical position in much of the Netherlands, etc.) were less clear, varying until rendered moot in the 19th century. After dissolution of
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1568-422: The plural pronouns. One frequently found difference not present in most Indo-European languages is a contrast between inclusive and exclusive "we" : a distinction of first-person plural pronouns between including or excluding the addressee. Many languages express person with different morphemes in order to distinguish degrees of formality and informality. A simple honorific system common among European languages
1617-465: The request of their parents, Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh and Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh , are styled as the children of a duke, and thus are known as Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor and Earl of Wessex . Under George V's letters patent, only the eldest son of the eldest living son of the Prince of Wales was also entitled to the style, but not younger sons or daughters of the eldest living son of
1666-466: The right to the style of HRH in the event of their divorce. Examples include HRH The Princess of Wales and HRH The Duchess of York whose styles changed to become Diana, Princess of Wales and Sarah, Duchess of York , respectively. These styles are in line with those of a divorced peeress . Grammatical person In linguistics , grammatical person is the grammatical distinction between deictic references to participant(s) in an event; typically,
1715-467: The sons and daughters of sovereigns and the male-line grandchildren of sovereigns are entitled to the style. It is for this reason that the daughters of the Duke of York , Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie , carry the HRH status, but the children of Anne, Princess Royal , Peter Phillips and Zara Tindall , do not. James Mountbatten-Windsor and Lady Louise, the grandchildren of Queen Elizabeth II , at
1764-465: The style Royal Highness was recorded in 1633. Gaston, Duke of Orléans , younger son of King Henry IV of France , encountered the style in Brussels and assumed it himself. His children later used the style, considering it their prerogative as grandchildren of France . By the 18th century, Royal Highness had become the prevalent style for members of a continental reigning dynasty whose head bore
1813-410: The style HRH or simply "Royal Highness" may only be conferred by letters patent . Since 1917, the style has usually been restricted to children of the monarch, or to male-line grandchildren (i.e., the children of the monarch's sons). It is typically associated with the rank of prince or princess (although this has not always applied, an exception being Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh , who received
1862-403: The style in 1947 prior to his marriage to Princess Elizabeth but was not formally created a British prince until 1957). When a prince has another title such as Duke (or a princess the title of Duchess), they may be called HRH The Duke of ... . For instance HRH The Duke of Connaught was a prince and a member of the royal family , while a non-royal duke such as the Duke of Devonshire is not
1911-412: The style of His/Her Royal Highness due to their decision to step down as working members of the royal family, though they are still legally entitled to the style. On 13 January 2022, it was announced that Prince Andrew, Duke of York would no longer use the style, following a notorious lawsuit against him. Letters patent dated 21 August 1996 stated that the wife of a member of the royal family loses
1960-652: The style of Majesty . Finally, a regent designated outside of the royal family in the cases provided by law would bear the simpler style of Highness . When Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden married commoner Olof Daniel Westling in 2010 , the Swedish Royal Court announced that Westling would become "Prince Daniel" and " Duke of Västergötland ", corresponding in form to the style used by Swedish princes of royal birth, including Victoria's younger brother Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland , i.e. Prince + Given name + Duke of [province] . Thus Westling
2009-468: The style of Royal Highness was created on the insistence of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria , Cardinal-Infante of Spain, a younger son of King Philip III of Spain . The archduke was travelling through Italy on his way to the Low Countries and, upon meeting Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy , refused to address him as Highness unless the Duke addressed him as Royal Highness . Thus, the first use of
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2058-410: The style of Royal Highness, although they usually bear the ducal title of their spouse along with the style of The Most Excellent , also used by the children of the infantes and the grandees of Spain . The consort of a queen regnant bears the title of prince and the style of Royal Highness, although the last male consort, spouse of Queen Isabella II , was elevated to the dignity of king consort with
2107-473: The term "crown prince" is used in English (e.g. Crown Prince of Umm al-Quwain ). The term crown prince is not used in European monarchies if the hereditary sovereign holds a title below that of king/queen or emperor/empress (such as grand duke or prince ), although it is sometimes used as a synonym for heir apparent. In Europe, where primogeniture governed succession to all monarchies except those of
2156-789: The title of Duchess of Parma, Piacenza and Guastalla, as well as being restored to her premarital title of Archduchess and Imperial Princess of Austria, Royal Princess of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia. The title of "Prince/Princess of the Burma with the accompanying style of HRH ; direct translation of Burmese: Myint Myat Taw Mu Hla Thaw . In Burmese Royal order called for Prince: Shwe Ko Daw Gyi Phaya ; Taw Phya . For Princess: Hteik Su Gyi Phaya or Hteik Su Myat Phaya ; Su Phya . That title used for Royal descendants of King Thibaw use that royal title. Another Kongbaung Dynasty King's Descendants Prince and Princess are use His/ Her Imperial Royal Highness ( Royal title ). The title of "Prince/Princess of
2205-443: The various combinations of person and number of the subject. The grammar of some languages divide the semantic space into more than three persons. The extra categories may be termed fourth person , fifth person , etc. Such terms are not absolute but can refer, depending on context, to any of several phenomena. Some Algonquian languages and Salishan languages divide the category of third person into two parts: proximate for
2254-505: Was also the title borne by the heirs apparent to the thrones of the grand duchies, sovereign duchies and principalities , and of mediatized princely families in the German monarchies abolished in 1918. Many monarchies use or did use substantive titles for their heirs apparent, often of historical origin: Some monarchies have used (although not always de jure ) a territorial title for heirs apparent which, though often perceived as
2303-630: Was made a prince of Sweden and was granted the style Royal Highness , making him an official member of the Swedish royal family . Princess Madeleine, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland married the commoner British-American banker Christopher O'Neill in 2013, but she did not adopt the surname O'Neill and instead retained the Bernadotte surname as do her children, and retained the style of Royal Highness . Christopher O'Neill kept his own name, unlike his brother-in-law Prince Daniel (above). O'Neill
2352-642: Was not granted royal status and has remained a private citizen, since he wished to retain his British and United States citizenships and his business. He declined Swedish citizenship and for that reason could not be a member of the Swedish Royal Family or Duke of Hälsingland and Gästrikland (his wife's titles). To remain Swedish royalty and have succession rights to the Swedish throne, the couple's children will have to be raised in Sweden and as members of
2401-458: Was the crown prince of Sweden from 1950 to 1973, as the senior grandson by male primogeniture of King Gustaf VI Adolf , although the former Prince Sigvard, Duke of Uppland was Gustaf VI Adolf's eldest living son, and Prince Bertil, Duke of Halland his eldest living dynastic son during those years). In some monarchies, those of the Middle East for example, in which primogeniture is not
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