Royal Highness

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His Royal Highness redirects here. For the 2011 film, see Your Highness. For the 1932 Australian film, see His Royal Highness (1932 film). For the 1981 comedy play, see Her Royal Highness..? (play)

Royal Highness (abbreviation HRH) is a style used to address or refer to some members of royal families, usually princes other than monarchs and their female consorts (i.e., kings and queens). 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 (Her Royal Highness or His Royal Highness, both abbreviated HRH) and, in plural, Their Royal Highnesses (TRH).

Holders of the style Royal Highness generally rank below holders of the style Imperial Highness, but above those addressed as Grand Ducal Highness, Highness, Serene Highness and some other styles.

Origin

By the 17th century, all local rulers in Italy adopted the style Highness, that was once used by kings and emperors only. According to Denis Diderot's Encyclopédie, 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 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.[1]

By the 18th century, Royal Highness had become the prevalent style for members of a continental reigning dynasty whose head bore 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 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).

African usage

The vast majority of African royalty that make use of titles such as prince, chief and sheik, eschew the attendant styles that one would ordinarily be accustomed to seeing or hearing in accompaniment. Even in 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, 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 royals when rendering their full titles in 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.

Kingdom of the Netherlands

The title of "Prince/Princess of the Netherlands" with the accompanying style of H.R.H. is or may be granted by law to the following classes of persons:[2]

  • A former monarch upon abdication.
  • The heir apparent to the throne.
  • The spouse of the monarch.
  • The spouse of the heir apparent.
  • The children of the monarch, other than the heir apparent, who are not removed from the line of succession to the throne.
  • The children of the heir apparent.

A separate title of "Prince/Princess of Orange-Nassau" may be granted by law to members of the Dutch royal house [2] 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 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 sister of former Queen Beatrix.[3]


Finally, members of the royal house or former members of the royal house within 3 months of loss of their membership may be also inducted by royal decree into the Dutch nobility [4] with 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.[3]

United Kingdom

Diana, Princess of Wales in 1987

In the British monarchy the style of Royal Highness is associated with the rank of prince or princess (although this has not always applied, the notable exception being Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who was given the style of HRH in 1947 but was not created a prince until 1957). This is especially important when a prince has another title such as Duke (or a princess the title of Duchess) by which he or she would usually be addressed. For instance HRH The Duke of Connaught was a prince and a member of the royal family while His Grace The Duke of Devonshire and His Grace The Duke of Abercorn are non-royal dukes and are not a members of the British Royal Family, but instead are members of the British nobility. During the Diamond Jubilee celebrations the Queen was referred to as Her Royal Highness, an incorrect form of address for the monarch, as the title Majesty, which the Queen holds, is above Royal Highness.[5]

In the United Kingdom, letters patent dated 21 August 1996 stated that a style received by the spouse of a member of the Royal Family on their marriage ceased in the event of their divorce.[6] It was for this reason that when TRH The Prince and Princess of Wales divorced, she ceased to be Royal Highness, and was styled Diana, Princess of Wales (although entitled to the prefix of "Lady" in her own right, she never reverted to its use).

Almost a year before, according to Tina Brown, the Duke of Edinburgh had warned the Princess of Wales: "If you don't behave, my girl, we'll take your title away." The Princess of Wales is said to have replied: "My title (The Lady Diana Frances Spencer) is a lot older than yours, Philip." She noted that the Spencer family, the family she was born to, is older and more aristocratic than the House of Windsor.[7]

Similarly, HRH The Duchess of York was restyled Sarah, Duchess of York after her divorce from HRH The Duke of York.

Denmark

In contradiction to 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; other grandchildren of a Danish monarch enjoy the style of Highness, e.g. Princess Elisabeth of Denmark.

Sweden

The Duke and Duchess of Västergötland on their wedding day
Main article: Wedding of Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, and Daniel Westling

On 19 June 2010, Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden married the commoner Olof Daniel Westling, but the Swedish Royal Court announced that Westling would become "Prince Daniel" and "Duke of Västergötland",[8] corresponding in form to the style used by previous Swedish princes, including Victoria's younger brother Prince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland, i.e. Prince + Given name + Duke of [Place].

On his wedding day Westling was made a prince of Sweden and was granted the style Royal Highness, making him an official member of the Swedish Royal Family and on a par with other senior members of the Royal Family, such as Prince Carl Philip, Princess Madeleine and Princess Lilian. At Stockholm Cathedral, he was also then made a knight of the Royal Order of the Seraphim and already wore its badge and ribbon upon emerging after the ceremony.

Princess Madeleine, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland married the commoner British-American Banker Christopher O'Neill, the wedding took place in Stockholm on 8 June 2013.

Princess Madeleine and Christopher O'Neill at the celebrations of the National Day of Sweden, two days prior to the wedding.

Princess Madeleine did not adopt the surname O'Neill and instead remained without a surname, allowing her to retain the style of Royal Highness. Christopher O'Neill did not change his last name either, unlike his brother-in-law Daniel, husband of Crown Princess Victoria.[9][10]

In May 2013, the Marshal of the Realm Svante Lindqvist announced that O'Neill had not be granted royal status and will remain a private citizen. O'Neill wished to retain his UK and US citizenships and his business as Head of Research at an investment firm in New York, while relinquishing both the citizenships and business are necessary to become a member of the Swedish Royal Family. O'Neill therefore did not become Prince of Sweden or Duke of Hälsingland and Gästrikland.[11][12]

O'Neill is Roman Catholic and the couple intend to continue residing in New York following their wedding, but their children will have to be raised in Sweden and as Lutherans, like their mother, in order to have succession rights.[13]

See also

References

  1. ^ Royal Styles and the uses of "Highness"
  2. ^ a b http://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0013729/geldigheidsdatum_14-07-2013
  3. ^ a b http://www.koninklijkhuis.nl/encyclopedie/protocol-en-ceremonie/titels/
  4. ^ http://wetten.overheid.nl/BWBR0006667/geldigheidsdatum_15-07-2013#Artikel1
  5. ^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/9339086/Alan-Titchmarsh-angry-at-the-BBCs-Diamond-Jubilee-coverage.html
  6. ^ "No. 54510". The London Gazette. 30 August 1996.
  7. ^ Brown, Tina (2007). The Diana Chronicles. New York: Doubleday. p. 392. ISBN 978-0-385-51708-9.
  8. ^ "Engagement between Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling" (Press release). Royal Court of Sweden. 24 February 2009. Retrieved 19 June 2010.
  9. ^ "No O'Neill name change for Princess Madeleine". The Local. 4 June 2013. Retrieved 6 June. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  10. ^ "No O'Neill name change for Princess Madeleine Princess Estelle skirts Swedish naming laws". The Local. 24 March 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  11. ^ "Christopher O'Neill Declines Title Before Wedding To Princess Madeleine Of Sweden". Retrieved 6 June. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  12. ^ Törnkvist, Ann (17 May 2013). "American 'prince' says no to Swedish citizenship". The Local. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
  13. ^ "'New York princess' risks heirs' right to the throne". The Local. 27 February 2013. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
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