Royal Highness is astyle used to address or refer to some members ofroyal families, usuallyprinces orprincesses.Kings and their femaleconsorts, as well asqueens regnant, are usually styledMajesty.
When used as a direct form of address, spoken or written, it takes the formYour Royal Highness. When used as athird-person reference, it is gender-specific (His Royal Highness orHer Royal Highness, both abbreviatedHRH) and in plural,Their Royal Highnesses (TRH).
It is used also for hereditary members of former reigning royal houses.
By the 17th century, all local rulers in Italy adopted the styleHighness, which was once used by kings and emperors only. According toDenis Diderot'sEncyclopédie, the style ofRoyal Highness was created on the insistence of ArchdukeFerdinand of Austria, Cardinal-Infante of Spain, a younger son of KingPhilip III of Spain. The archduke was travelling through Italy on his way to the Low Countries and, upon meetingVictor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy, refused to address him asHighness unless the Duke addressed him asRoyal Highness. Thus, the first use of the styleRoyal Highness was recorded in 1633.Gaston, Duke of Orléans, younger son of KingHenry IV of France, encountered the style inBrussels and assumed it himself. His children later used the style, considering it their prerogative asgrandchildren of France.[1]
By the 18th century,Royal Highness had become the prevalent style for members of acontinental European reigning dynasty whose head bore the hereditary title of king or queen. The titles of family members of non-hereditary rulers (e.g., theHoly Roman Emperor,King of Poland,Princes of Moldavia and Wallachia—and even the kin of thePrinces 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'sprince-electors and other now sovereign rulers assumed the title ofgrand duke and with it, for themselves, their eldest sons and consorts, the style ofRoyal Highness (Baden, Hesse, Mecklenburg, Saxe-Weimar).
The vast majority of Africanroyalty that make use of titles such asprince,chief andsheikh, eschew the attendant styles often encountered in Europe. Even in the cases of the aforesaid titles, they usually only exist ascourtesies and may or may not have been recognised by areigningfons honorum. However, sometraditional leaders and their family members use royal styles when acting in their official roles as representatives ofsovereign or constituent states, distinguishing their status from others who may use or claim traditional titles.[citation needed]
For example, theNigerian traditional rulers of theYoruba are usually styled using theHRH The X of Y method, even though they are confusingly known askings in English and not the princes that the HRH style usually suggests. The chiefly appellation "Kabiyesi" (lit. 'He/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 theYoruba language.[citation needed]
Furthermore, the wives of the king of theZulu peoples, although all entitled to the title ofqueen, do not share their husband's style ofMajesty but instead are each addressed asRoyal Highness, with the possible exception of thegreat wife.[citation needed]
Another example, TheZosimli Naa is a femalechieftaincy title inGhana. The first Zosimli was Her Royal Highness, Naa Dr. Susan J Herlin.[2][3] In 2022, a new Zosimli Naa, HRH Naa Ife Bell was enskinned at a colorful ceremony.[4]
In contrast to some other European kingdoms, the kingdoms ofDenmark andSweden by royal decree reserve the superior style of Royal Highness only to the children of the monarch and the children of thecrown prince.[5]
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 theHouse of Habsburg and later theHouse of Habsburg-Lorraine. Even though the Habsburgs held the Imperial crown of theHoly 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.[citation needed]
This changed whenFrancis I of Austria dissolved the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, as theArchduchy 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 ofImperial and Royal Highness to reflect the creation of the Empire of Austria.[citation needed]
At theCongress of Vienna in 1815,the former empress Marie Louise of France was restored to her Imperial and Royal style and granted 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.[citation needed]
The title of "Prince/Princess of the Burma with the accompanying style ofHRH; 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 orHteik 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 useHis/ Her Imperial Royal Highness (Royal title).
The title of "Prince/Princess of the Netherlands" with the accompanying style of HRH is or may be granted by law to the following classes of persons:[6]
A separate title of "Prince/Princess of Orange-Nassau" may be granted by law to members of theDutch royal house[6] 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 daughter of the late Queen Juliana.[7]
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 theDutch nobility[8] 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. They were also given the surname "Van Oranje-Nassau van Amsberg.[7]
In Norway the style of Royal Highness is reserved for the children of the monarch and the eldest child of the heir apparent. Other children of the heir apparent have the styleHighness, e.g.Prince Sverre Magnus of Norway.[9]
InSpain, theprince or princess of Asturias, theirspouse and theinfantes of Spain bear the style of Royal Highness.[10] 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 the style of Royal Highness, although they usually bear theducal title of their spouse along with the style ofThe Most Excellent, also used by the children of the infantes and thegrandees of Spain.[10][11]
The consort of a queen regnant bears the title of prince and the style of Royal Highness,[12] although the last male consort, spouse ofQueen Isabella II, was elevated to the dignity of king consort with the style ofMajesty.[13]
Finally, a regent designated outside of theroyal family in the cases provided by law would bear the simpler style ofHighness.[14]
WhenVictoria, Crown Princess of Sweden married commonerOlof Daniel Westling in2010, the Swedish Royal Court announced that Westling would become "Prince Daniel" and "Duke of Västergötland",[15] corresponding in form to the style used by Swedish princes of royal birth, including Victoria's younger brotherPrince Carl Philip, Duke of Värmland, i.e.Prince +Given name +Duke of [province]. Thus Westling was made a prince of Sweden and was granted the styleRoyal Highness, making him an official member of theSwedish royal family.
Princess Madeleine, Duchess of Hälsingland and Gästrikland married the commoner British-American bankerChristopher 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 ofRoyal Highness. Christopher O'Neill kept his own name, unlike his brother-in-law Prince Daniel (above).[16][17] O'Neill 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).[18][19] 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 theChurch of Sweden.[20]
Three of the sisters ofKing Carl XVI Gustaf were granted honorary titles ofPrincess (without nationality) when they married commoners but lost theirRoyal Highness status, as did two of his uncles earlier in the 20th century.[citation needed]
In October 2019, the grandchildren of King Carl XVI Gustaf retained the titles ofPrince orPrincess but lost the style ofRoyal Highness, except for the children of the Crown Princess Victoria.[21][22]
Sons, daughters,patrilineal grandsons and granddaughters ofIbn Saud are referred to by the style "His/Her Royal Highness" (HRH), differing from those belonging to thecadet branches, who are called "His/Her Highness" (HH) and in addition to that a reigning king has the title ofCustodian of the Two Holy Mosques.[23][24]
InBritish constitutional law, use of the style HRH or simply "Royal Highness" may only be conferred byletters 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).[a][26] It is typically associated with the rank ofprince orprincess (although this has not always applied, an exception beingPrince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who received the style in 1947 prior to his marriage toPrincess Elizabeth but was not formally created a British prince until 1957).[27] When a prince has another title such asDuke (or a princess the title of Duchess), they may be calledHRH The Duke of .... For instance HRHThe Duke of Connaught was a prince and a member of theroyal family, while a non-royal duke such asthe Duke of Devonshire is not a member of the royal family, but is a member of thepeerage. WhenEdward VIII abdicated the throne in 1936 he was granted the style and title of HRH The Duke of Windsor. The woman he then married became theDuchess 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.[28]
According to letters patent issued byKing George V in 1917, 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 ofAndrew Mountbatten-Windsor (formerly, the Duke of York),Princess Beatrice andPrincess Eugenie, carry the HRH status, but the children ofAnne, Princess Royal,Peter Phillips andZara Tindall, do not. Louise and James, the grandchildren ofQueen Elizabeth II, at the request of their parents,Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh andSophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, are styled as the children of a duke, and thus are known asLady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor andEarl of Wessex. Under George V's letters patent, only the eldest son of the eldest living son of thePrince of Wales was also entitled to the style, but not younger sons or daughters of the eldest living son of the Prince of Wales. Queen Elizabeth II changed this in 2012 prior to the birth ofPrince George so that all children of the eldest living son of the Prince of Wales would bear the style,[29] returning to the positionQueen Victoria had instituted in 1898.[30] There is no mention of younger living sons of a Prince of Wales, as a result of which the children ofPrince Harry, Duke of Sussex,Archie andLilibet, were not automatically aprince andprincess 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.[31] On 18 January 2020, Queen Elizabeth II announced that Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, would no longer use the style ofHis/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.[32] On 13 January 2022, it was announced that the thenPrince Andrew, Duke of York would no longer use the style, followinga lawsuit against him.[33] On 30 October 2025, Buckingham Palace announced thatKing Charles III had started the "formal process" to remove Andrew's style, titles, and honours.[34]
Letters patent dated 21 August 1996 stated that the wife of a member of the royal family loses the right to the style of HRH in the event of their divorce.[35] Examples include HRH The Princess of Wales and HRH The Duchess of York whose styles changed to becomeDiana, Princess of Wales andSarah, Duchess of York, respectively. These styles are in line with those of adivorced peeress.
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