Majesty (abbreviated HM for His Majesty or Her Majesty, oral address Your Majesty; from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, meaning ) is used as a manner of address by many

monarch A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest ...

s, usually

king King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

s or

queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

s. Where used, the style outranks the style of ''(Imperial/Royal)

Highness Highness (abbreviation HH, oral address Your Highness) is a formal style used to address (in second person) or refer to (in third person) certain members of a reigning or formerly reigning dynasty. It is typically used with a possessive adjec ...

'', but is inferior to the style of '' Imperial Majesty''. It has cognates in many other languages, especially of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

Origin

Originally, during the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

, the word was the legal term for the supreme status and dignity of the state, to be respected above everything else. This was crucially defined by the existence of a specific case, called (in later French and English law, ), consisting of the violation of this supreme status. Various acts such as celebrating a party on a day of public mourning, contempt of the various rites of the state and disloyalty in word or act were punished as crimes against the majesty of the republic. However, later, under the

Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

, it came to mean an offence against the dignity of the

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

Style of a head of state

The term was first assumed by Charles V, who believed that—following his election as

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

in 1519—he deserved a style greater than ''

'', which preceding emperors and kings had used. Soon,

Francis I of France Francis I (; ; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once removed and father-in-law Louis&nbs ...

and

Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

followed his example. After the fall of the Holy Roman Empire, Majesty was used to describe a monarch of the very highest rank— it was generally applied to

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

. Variations, such as ''Catholic Majesty'' (Spain) or '' Britannic Majesty'' (United Kingdom) are often used in diplomatic settings where there otherwise may be ambiguity (see a list). A person with the title is usually addressed as ''Your Majesty'', and referred to as ''His/Her Majesty'', abbreviated ''HM''; the plural ''Their Majesties'' is ''TM''. Emperors (and empresses) use '' is/Her/Their/YourImperial Majesty'', ''HIM'' or ''TIM''. Princely and ducal heads usually use ''His

'' or some variation thereof (e.g., ''His Serene Highness''). In British practice, heads of princely states in the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

were referred to as Highness. In monarchies that do not follow the European tradition, monarchs may be called ''Majesty'' whether or not they formally bear the title of ''King'' or ''Queen'', as is the case in certain countries and amongst certain peoples in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

and

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. In Europe, the monarchs of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium use the style. By contrast, the heads of state of Liechtenstein and Monaco, being principalities, use the inferior style of ''Serene Highness''. Luxembourg, a Grand Duchy, accords its monarch the style of ''Royal Highness,'' as accorded to all other members of the Grand-Ducal Family, due to being descendants of Prince Félix of Bourbon-Parma. In the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

, the Pope – while ruling as ''Sovereign of the Vatican City State'' – uses the spiritual style of ''Holiness.'' Moreover, while Andorra is formally a monarchy, its Co-Princes – the bishop of Urgell (appointed by the Pope) and

President of France The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is the supreme magistracy of the country, the po ...

– use the republican and non-royal style of ''Excellency.'' Andorra is the only non-hereditary, elective and appointive monarchy in Europe.

United Kingdom and the Commonwealth

In the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, several derivatives of Majesty have been or are used, either to distinguish the British sovereign from continental kings and queens or as further exalted forms of address for the monarch in official documents or the most formal situations. Richard II, according to Robert Lacey in his book Great Tales from English history, was the first English King to demand the title of ''Highness'' or ''Majesty''. He also noted that, "previous English Kings had been content to be addressed as ''My Lord'' ". '' Most Gracious Majesty'' is used only in the most formal of occasions. Around 1519 King

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

decided Majesty should become the style of the sovereign of England. ''Majesty'', however, was not used exclusively; it arbitrarily alternated with both ''

'' and '' Grace'', even in official documents. For example, one legal judgement issued by Henry VIII uses all three indiscriminately; Article 15 begins with, "The Kinges Highness hath ordered," Article 16 with, "The Kinges Majestie" and Article 17 with, "The Kinges Grace." Pre-Union Scotland Sovereigns were only addressed as '' Your Grace''. During the reign of

James VI and I James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 M ...

, Majesty became the official style, to the exclusion of others. In full, the Sovereign is still referred to as ''His (Her) Most Gracious Majesty'', actually a merger of both the Scottish Grace and the English Majesty. '' Britannic Majesty'' is the style used for the monarch and the crown in

diplomacy Diplomacy is the communication by representatives of State (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, non-governmental institutions intended to influence events in the international syste ...

, the law of nations, and

international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

. For example, in the

Mandate for Palestine The Mandate for Palestine was a League of Nations mandate for British Empire, British administration of the territories of Mandatory Palestine, Palestine and Emirate of Transjordan, Transjordanwhich had been Ottoman Syria, part of the Ottoman ...

of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

, it was ''His Britannic Majesty'' who was designated as the Mandatory for

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

. Britannic Majesty is famously used in all British passports, where the following sentence is used: '' Most Excellent Majesty'' is mainly used in Acts of Parliament, where the phrase ''The King's (or Queen's) Most Excellent Majesty'' is used in the enacting clause. The standard is as follows: Wives of Kings are entitled to the style of Her Majesty (such as Queen Camilla). Husbands of

queens regnant A queen regnant (: queens regnant) is a female monarch, equivalent in rank, title and position to a king. She reigns ''suo jure'' (in her own right) over a realm known as a kingdom; as opposed to a queen consort, who is married to a reigning ...

do not have the same right, as was the case with Queen Elizabeth II's consort Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who had the style

Royal Highness 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''. When used as a direct form of a ...

. This is because a king outranks a queen; therefore, the consort would outrank the monarch. In addition, a woman holds the female equivalent of her husband's title but a man does not share his wife's title.

Thailand

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, the title for the King is (), or informally ''God Above Us'' (. This designation stems from the concept of Devaraja or God-King (), where the Thai King is considered a part of

Vishnu Vishnu (; , , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the Hindu deities, principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism, and the god of preservation ( ...

, one of the highest gods in

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

. Traditionally, many Thai people referred to their kings as (), a term connected to the word ''

father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. A biological fat ...

'' as seen in the

Sukhothai Kingdom The Sukhothai Kingdom was a post-classical Siamese kingdom (Mandala (political model), ''maṇḍala'') in Mainland Southeast Asia surrounding the ancient capital city of Sukhothai Historical Park, Sukhothai in present-day north-central Thaila ...

or the Phayao Kingdom, where the king is addressed as ' () or ' (). This reflects the concept of patriarchy, considering the king as the father and the people as the sons. During the reign of King Ramathibodi I of the Ayutthaya Kingdom, society expanded, and the king's status evolved from father to god. King Ramathibodi I adopted the concept of Devaraja from the Khmer Empire, incorporating the word ' () from the Khmer king's title, along with ' () rooted in the

Khmer language Khmer ( ; , Romanization of Khmer#UNGEGN, UNGEGN: ) is an Austroasiatic language spoken natively by the Khmer people. This language is an official language and national language of Cambodia. The language is also widely spoken by Khmer people i ...

. The names of Thai kings also signify divinity, such as meaning

Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...

the sovereign, signifying God in

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...

form, and a combination of and There is further evidence of similar uses, such as (), implying that the king holds the status of a

Bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...

destined to attain enlightenment and become a Buddha in the future. (), meaning is the honorific title monks use to address the king.

Japan

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, the uses of

honorific An honorific is a title that conveys esteem, courtesy, or respect for position or rank when used in addressing or referring to a person. Sometimes, the term "honorific" is used in a more specific sense to refer to an Honorary title (academic), h ...

title for the

Emperor of Japan The emperor of Japan is the hereditary monarch and head of state of Japan. The emperor is defined by the Constitution of Japan as the symbol of the Japanese state and the unity of the Japanese people, his position deriving from "the will of ...

, the Empress, the Grand Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager are defined in The Imperial House Law since 1947. In 757, this term was first defined in the to use only when addressing the . In Former Imperial House Law ( 1889), the use case of this term was expanded to include the Empress, the Grand Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager.

Brunei

In Brunei, a Malay title for the Sultan of Brunei is officially ''Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Paduka Seri Baginda'' (KDYMMPSB) or unofficially simply ''Kebawah Duli''. It literally means "Under the dust of the Most Exalted od The Victorious Sovereign". It reflects the title of ''Zilullah-fil-Alam'' ("Shadow of God on Earth"), referring to the Sultan as having a small bit of God's immense power. The title ''paduka'' means "victorious" from Old Malay while '' seri'' is an honorific from

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

. The title ''baginda'' is a third-person noun for royals and prophets.

Ancient China

History of China The history of China spans several millennia across a wide geographical area. Each region now considered part of the Chinese world has experienced periods of unity, fracture, prosperity, and strife. Chinese civilization first emerged in the ...

after

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

, the

(), referring to the Emperor of China (), was used.

Saudi Arabia

In 1986,

King Fahd Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (; 1920, 1921 or 1923 – 1 August 2005) was King of Saudi Arabia, King and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 13 June 1982 until his death in 2005. Prior to his ascension, he was Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia from 1 ...

abolished the use of Majesty () in reference style in favour of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, a style adopted by historical Islamic rulers. However, the King of Saudi Arabia by custom continues to be referred to as ''Your Majesty'' in conversation.

Malaysia

In Malaysia, the Malay style for the

Yang di-Pertuan Agong The King of Malaysia, officially ''Yang di-Pertuan Agong'' ( Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ), is the constitutional monarch and Figurehead, ceremonial head of state of Malaysia. The office was established in 1957, when the Federation of Malaya gained ...

and the Raja Permaisuri Agong is ''Kebawah Duli Yang Maha Mulia Seri Paduka Baginda'' or simply ''Seri Paduka Baginda''. The

Sultan of Johor The Sultan of Johor (Malay language, Malay: ''Sultan Johor''; Jawi script, Jawi: ) is a hereditary seat and the sovereign ruler of the Malaysian state of Johor. In the past, the sultan held absolute power over the state and was advised by a '' ...

and the Permaisuri of Johor use the Malay style ''Duli Yang Maha Mulia'' (DYMM) which is equivalent to His/Her Majesty since 2017. Prior to that, they were addressed as ''His/Her Royal Highness'' in English, similar with the other eight royal state Malay rulers in Malaysia.

Burma

In Burma, the full Burmese title for the King of Burma Proper was officially ''Bhone Taw Kyi Hla Thaw Myanmar Min Myat Phya'' (), shortened to ''Bhone Taw Kyi Phaya'' () or ''Ashin Paya'' ().

References

External links

* {{Royal styles

Majesty Majesty (abbreviated HM for His Majesty or Her Majesty, oral address Your Majesty; from the Latin , meaning ) is used as a manner of address by many monarchs, usually kings or queens. Where used, the style outranks the style of ''(Imperial/Roy ...