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:
“Oh, never mind the fashion. When one has a style of one’s own, it is always twenty times better.”
—Margaret Oliphant (1828–1897)
“The old saying of Buffon’s that style is the man himself is as near the truth as we can get—but then most men mistake grammar for style, as they mistake correct spelling for words or schooling for education.”
—Samuel Butler (1835–1902)
“When you got to the table you couldn’t go right to eating, but you had to wait for the widow to tuck down her head and grumble a little over the victuals, though there warn’t really anything the matter with them. That is, nothing only everything was cooked by itself. In a barrel of odds and ends it is different; things get mixed up, and the juice kind of swaps around, and the things go better.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)
“I shall state silences more competently than ever a better man spangled the butterflies of vertigo.”
—Samuel Beckett (1906–1989)