Style of A Head of State
After the fall of Rome, Majesty was used to describe a monarch of the very highest rank - indeed, it was generally applied to God.
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).
Imperial heads (i.e., Emperors) may use Imperial Majesty.
Princely and ducal heads usually use "His Highness" or some variation thereof (e.g., His Serene Highness). In British practice, heads of princely states in the British Empire are referred to as Highness.
In monarchies that don't follow the European tradition, heads 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 and Asia.
Read more about this topic: Majesty
Famous quotes containing the words style of, style, head and/or state:
“Switzerland is a small, steep country, much more up and down than sideways, and is all stuck over with large brown hotels built on the cuckoo clock style of architecture.”
—Ernest Hemingway (18991961)
“The habit some writers indulge in of perpetual quotation is one it behoves lovers of good literature to protest against, for it is an insidious habit which in the end must cloud the stream of thought, or at least check spontaneity. If it be true that le style cest lhomme, what is likely to happen if lhomme is for ever eking out his own personality with that of some other individual?”
—Dame Ethel Smyth (18581944)
“No sociologist ... should think himself too good, even in his old age, to make tens of thousands of quite trivial computations in his head and perhaps for months at a time. One cannot with impunity try to transfer this task entirely to mechanical assistants if one wishes to figure something, even though the final result is often small indeed.”
—Max Weber (18641920)
“A state always calls itself fatherland when it is ready for murder.”
—Friedrich Dürrenmatt (19211990)