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Imperial Highness is a form of address used for members of an imperial family. It denotesimperial – as opposed toroyal – status to show that the holder in question is descended from anemperor rather than aking (compareHis/Her Royal Highness). It is typically used to address a prince or princess who is the child of the emperor and/or empress, or their spouse.[1] Used with possessive pronouns such as his, her, or their, the title is abbreviated accordingly as H.I.H. or T.I.H.[1]
The first dynasty to use the style inEurope on the generic basis were theRomanovs in the eighteenth century; the archdukes and archduchess of theHouse of Habsburg were only styled asRoyal Highness given the officially elective nature of theHoly Roman Empire.
With the establishment of theAustrian Empire in 1804, the style of members of its imperial family changed toImperial Highness. Following theAustro-Hungarian compromise with its creation of two intertwined but distinct states, the Austrian Empire and theKingdom of Hungary, the style was changed toImperial and Royal Highness to reflect the double role; however, the colloquialism of omitting "and Royal" was acceptable even for the most formal occasions.
Today, the style has mainly fallen from use with the exception of theImperial House of Japan (Japanese:殿下,Hepburn:denka). In the past, the style has been applied to the more senior members of imperial dynasties, including theFrench,Turkish,Russian,Brazil, andEthiopian imperial houses, among many others.Archdukes ofAustria from theHabsburg dynasty traditionally hold the style ofImperial and Royal Highness (German:Kaiserliche und königliche Hoheit), with the "Royal" signifying their status as Princes of Hungary. These styles have been abrogated but are often given out of courtesy. Some members of theroyal family of Belgium descending from the Habsburgs do hold it as an official style (the "and Royal" might here possibly be read as referring as well to Belgium). Members of theBritish royal family, theoretically, as the imperial family ofBritish India, could have used the title, but did not.
