Whom is it appropriate to address as 'Your Highness' (i.e. people of which position/rank)?

albtucker

Highness, often used with a personal possessive pronoun (His/Her/Your/Their Highness(es), the first two abbreviated HH) is an attribute referring to the rank of the dynasty (such as Royal Highness, Imperial Highness) in an address. It is literally the quality of being lofty or high, a term and style used, as are so many abstractions, as a style of dignity and honour, to signify exalted rank or station. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highness Dec 31 08, 11:23 PM

looney_tunes

"His Highness, often abbreviated HH, is a style for members of ducal families, some grand ducal families, and lesser members of some royal families. ... The style is officially used by junior members of the royal houses of Denmark and the Netherlands. ... n most of Africa, many styles are used by Tribal Royalty. Currently, the members of these Royal Families use Highness or Royal Highness, while some still just use Prince or Princess. ... Regardless of the official traditions in the various colonial empires, the style is evidently used to render, often merely informally, various somewhat analogous titles in non-western cultures, regardless whether there is an actual linguistic and/or historical link. In Samoa the heads of the two paramount chieftain carry the title Highness. ... While the actual precedence depends on the rank itself, and sometimes more specifically on the monarchy, rather than on the style of address, the holders tend to end up roughly in the following order of precedence: * His/Her Imperial and Royal Highness (HI&RH; ranks with HIH) * His/Her Imperial Highness (HIH; ranks with HI&RH) * His/Her Royal Highness (HRH) * His/Her Grand Ducal Highness (HGDH) * His/Her Highness (HH) * His/Her Ducal Serene Highness (HDSH) * His/Her Most Serene Highness (HMSH) * His/Her Serene Highness (HSH) * His/Her Illustrious Highness (HIll.H) * His Most Eminent Highness, a hybrid with His Eminence, created in 1630 for the Grand Master of the Knights of Malta, as Prince of the empire at par with a Cardinal (Prince of the Church). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highness Jan 01 09, 12:30 AM