Imperial and Royal Highness ( abbreviation HI&RH) is a

style Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to: * Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable * Design, the process of creating something * Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...

possessed by someone who either through birth or marriage holds two individual styles, ''

Imperial Highness His/Her Imperial Highness (abbreviation HIH) is a style used by members of an imperial family to denote ''imperial'' – as opposed to ''royal'' – status to show that the holder in question is descended from an emperor rather than a king ( ...

'' and ''

Royal Highness Royal Highness is a style used to address or refer to some members of royal families, usually princes or princesses. Monarchs and their consorts are usually styled ''Majesty''. When used as a direct form of address, spoken or written, it t ...

''. ''His/Her Imperial Highness'' is a style used by members of an imperial family to denote ''imperial'' – as opposed to ''royal'' – status to show that the holder is descended from an

Emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

rather than a

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

or Queen. Holders of the style ''Imperial Highness'' generally

rank Rank is the relative position, value, worth, complexity, power, importance, authority, level, etc. of a person or object within a ranking, such as: Level or position in a hierarchical organization * Academic rank * Diplomatic rank * Hierarchy * ...

above holders of the style ''

''. A primary example of the contemporary usage of this style is the

Belgian Royal Family Belgium is a constitutional, hereditary, and popular monarchy. The monarch is titled king or queen of the Belgians ( nl, Koning(in) der Belgen, french: Roi / Reine des Belges}, german: König(in) der Belgier) and serves as the country's he ...

. HI&RH Lorenz, Archduke of Austria-Este, Prince of Belgium is a member of the Imperial

House of Habsburg-Lorraine The House of Habsburg-Lorraine (german: Haus Habsburg-Lothringen) originated from the marriage in 1736 of Francis III, Duke of Lorraine and Bar, and Maria Theresa of Austria, later successively Queen of Bohemia, Queen of Hungary, Queen of C ...

by birth, but upon his marriage to HRH

Princess Astrid of Belgium Princess Astrid of Belgium, Archduchess of Austria-Este (born 5 June 1962), is the second child and first daughter of King Albert II and Queen Paola, and the younger sister to the current Belgian monarch, King Philippe. She is married to Pri ...

, he also became a member of the

by marriage. As such, their children currently use the styles ''HI&RH'' as members of both the Royal family of

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and the Imperial

Brazilian use

In 1909, the members of the Orléans-Braganza Branch of the Brazilian Imperial Family signed an agreement with Prince Philippe, Duke of Orléans (1869–1926), the Head of the

House of Orléans The 4th House of Orléans (french: Maison d'Orléans), sometimes called the House of Bourbon-Orléans (french: link=no, Maison de Bourbon-Orléans) to distinguish it, is the fourth holder of a surname previously used by several branches of the Ro ...

(the former Royal Family of France), called the "family pact". By this agreement, all of them were counted in the French line of succession, being properly styled "Royal Highness". Combined with the earlier style "Imperial Highness", determined in the Imperial Constitution of 1824,The Imperial Family of Brazil
- website nobility-royalty.com since then on the Head of the family (named Head of the Imperial House), the Heir to the Headship (named Prince Imperial), and the eldest son of the Imperial Prince (

Prince of Grão-Pará The Prince of Grão-Pará was the title bestowed on the eldest son of the Prince Imperial of Brazil. The title holder was the second in the line of succession to the throne of the Empire of Brazil, after the Prince Imperial. The title was establish ...

) uses the style "Imperial and Royal Highness". Other princes/princesses of the Orléans-Braganza branch ( Prince/Princess of Orléans-Braganza) uses the style Royal Highness, and the members of the Saxe-Coburg-Braganza branch (Prince/Princess of Saxe-Coburg-Braganza) kept the style Highness.

German use

The style was also used by the eldest son of the

German Emperor The German Emperor (german: Deutscher Kaiser, ) was the official title of the head of state and hereditary ruler of the German Empire. A specifically chosen term, it was introduced with the 1 January 1871 constitution and lasted until the offi ...

who was the German Crown Prince and Crown Prince of Prussia, and also by his wife who was crown princess. It may be used for the head of the

House of Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, also , german: Haus Hohenzollern, , ro, Casa de Hohenzollern) is a German royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenbu ...

out of respect; however, like all members of former German noble families, in law he is considered to be an ordinary citizen of Germany, and as such holds no title officially.

Habsburg use

The style is used by members of the Habsburg dynasty, who use the titles Prince Imperial and Archduke of Austria and Prince Royal of Bohemia and Hungary. One contemporary example of this is HI&RH Lorenz, Archduke of Austria-Este, Prince of Belgium, who is a member of the Imperial

by birth and of the

by marriage. The Habsburgs, who have held the elective Crown of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...

for centuries, only began to use the style ''Imperial and Royal Highness'' with the establishment of the hereditary

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence ...

in 1804; prior to this, non-reigning members of the dynasty were styled as ''

es''.

Portuguese use

During the reign of Emperor Pedro I of Brazil, King John VI of Portugal, Pedro's father, was created titular

Emperor of Brazil The monarchs of Brazil ( Portuguese: ''monarcas do Brasil'') were the imperial heads of state and hereditary rulers of Brazil from the House of Braganza that reigned from the creation of the Brazilian monarchy in 1815 as a constituent kingdom o ...

by a provision of the Treaty on the recognition of the independence of Brazil, that was ratified and entered into force on 15 November 1825. On the same date, King John VI issued a Charter of Law to change his royal titles, so as to include his courtesy title of Emperor among them. King John VI would use the style ''Imperial and Royal Highness'' until his death on 10 March 1826. King Pedro IV of Portugal also used the styling, having also been the first

as Pedro I.

Personal use

Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia Grand Duchess Elena Vladimirovna of Russia (29 January 1882 – 13 March 1957), sometimes known as Helen, Helena, Helene, Ellen, Yelena, Hélène, or Eleni, was the only daughter and youngest child of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich of Russia a ...

, upon her marriage to

Prince Nicholas of Greece Prince Nicholas of Greece and Denmark ( el, Νικόλαος; 22 January 1872 – 8 February 1938), of the Glücksburg branch of the House of Oldenburg, was the fourth child and third son of King George I of Greece, and of Queen Olga. He was kn ...

, was styled ''Her Imperial and Royal Highness''. Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia was alternately styled ''Her Imperial and Royal Highness'' and ''Her Royal and Imperial Highness'' upon her marriage to

Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh Alfred (Alfred Ernest Albert; 6 August 184430 July 1900) was the sovereign duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha from 1893 to 1900. He was the second son and fourth child of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. He was known as the Duke of Edinburgh from 1 ...

, the second son of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

Sources