SERENE HIGHNESS

'Serene Highness' (acronym 'HSH') – ''His Serene Highness'' or ''Her Serene Highness''. The style of HSH appeared at the front of the princely titles of members of German ruling families. The style is also used today by the ruling families of Monaco and Liechtenstein.

Contents

Monaco

German usage

Belgium

Hungary

France

See also

External links

Monaco

The reigning Prince of Monaco, Prince Albert II of Monaco, is styled ''His Serene Highness'' and his sisters Stéphanie and Caroline are also styled as ''Her Serene Highness'', although Caroline is now styled ''Royal Highness'' through marriage. In French, both male and female versions are ''Son Altesse Sérénissime'' (''S.A.S.''), which translates literally to "His/Her Most Serene Highness".

German usage

The style ''Serene Highness'' was mainly used by the mediatized Dukes, reigning and mediatized ''Fürsten'' ("Princes"), and the children and grandchildren of the reigning or mediatized Dukes and ''Fürsten'', of the small German states that survived after the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire. It was also given to several morganatic branches of German ruling family. Queen Mary, the consort of King George V used the style ''Her Serene Highness'' as a Princess of Teck. (The dukes and princes of Teck were a branch of the Royal House of Württemberg). In the Republic of Venice, also called the Serene Republic, the Doge was known as "Serenissimus".
In most of Europe, the style of ''Serene Highness'' was considered to be lower in rank than ''Highness'', ''Grand Ducal Highness'', ''Royal Highness'', and ''Imperial Highness''. If a woman with the rank of ''Royal Highness'' married a man with the rank ''Serene Highness'', the woman would usually retain her pre-marital style. Queen Victoria did however create those German princes and dukes who married her daughters ''Royal Highnesses''.
In Germany, the styled used is ''Durchlaucht'', a translation for the Latin ''superillustris''. This is usually translated into English as ''Serene Highness'', however, it would be more correct to translate it as ''superior to, above, beyond or greater than famous''. In a number of Old English dictionaries, ''serene'' as used in this context means ''supreme,'' ''royal,'' ''august,'' or ''marked by majestic dignity or grandeur'' or ''high or supremely dignified.'' The style ''Serene Highness'' has an antiquity equal to that of ''highness.'' However, in some, excluding the Latin speaking countries, ''Highness'' outranks a ''Serene Highness''. In 1905 the Emperor Wilhelm II granted the high Durchlaucht title to virtually every prince in the former Holy Roman Empire, even if they had never been sovereign.
During World War I, King George V revoked the style ''Serene Highness'' for use by those members of the British Royal Family who were British subjects.
The official current usage of the style in the German-speaking countries is by the princely house of Liechtenstein, the entirety of which bears the style, and other higher Germanic states. It is used officially by these:

★ Hohenzollern

★ Lippe

★ Reuss

★ Schaumburg-Lippe

★ Schwarzburg (now extinct)

★ Schwarzenberg

★ Waldeck and Pyrmont
Various mediatized German princely families also use the style, unofficially:

★ Arenberg

★ Auersperg

★ Bentheim

★ Erbach-Schönberg

★ Esterházy von Galántha

★ Fürstenberg

★ Hohenlohe

★ Isenburg

★ Leiningen

★ Leyen

★ Lobkowicz

★ Löwenstein-Wertheim

★ Oettingen

★ Salm-Horstmar

★ Salm-Salm

★ Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg

★ Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn

★ Schönburg-Hartenstein

★ Schönburg-Waldenburg

★ Solms-Braunfels

★ Solms-Hohensolms-Lich

★ The Prince of Starhemberg (although not junior members of the family)

★ Stolberg-Stolberg

★ The Prince of Stolberg-Wernigerode and his immediate family

★ Thurn and Taxis

★ Wied

★ Windischgrätz

Belgium

In addition to the Arenberg and Lobkowicz, the following families also use the style ''Serene Highness'' :

★ Croÿ

★ Croÿ-Rœulx

★ Croÿ-Solre

★ The Duke of Looz-Corswarem and his immediate family

Hungary

Before 1947, the style ''His/Her Serene Highness'' (Ő Főméltósága, literally: "His/Her High Dignitary") was in use in Hungary. Princes were entitled to use it and between 1920 and 1944 Regent Miklós Horthy was styled as 'His Serene Highness the Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary' ''(Ő Főméltósága a Magyar Királyság Kormányzója)''.

France

There is some evidence that in pre-Revolutionary France, one bearing the style of ''Serene Highness'' would outrank someone who was merely a ''Highness'' without any modifier. Those members of the Royal House of France who were not children or grandchildren of the king used the style ''Most Serene Highness''. In fact, that style was introduced into France by Gaston d'Orleans the son of Henry IV and younger brother of Louis XIII.

See also

★ Style (manner of address)

★ Use of courtesy titles and honorifics in professional writing

External links

★ Article on the use of ''Highness''