GOTHA is an independent directory of royal and noble families. It is not affiliated with, and does not represent, the Almanach de Gotha or its publishers.
Majesty, Royal Highness and Serene Highness explained
A style is a form of address, not the same thing as a title or a constitutional office. The British court distinguishes “Your Majesty” for the King and Queen from “Your Royal Highness” for other royal family members in its greeting guidance. It also says traditional bows and curtsies are not obligatory 1. These are local conventions, not a single worldwide law.
The main terms
- Majesty (HM): the British guidance uses this for both King and Queen. The form alone therefore does not prove that its bearer is the reigning head of state 1.
- Royal Highness (HRH): a different form from Majesty. Luxembourg recommends “Your Royal Highness” for the Grand Duke and other members of the Grand Ducal Family. A grand-ducal title does not automatically mean Grand Ducal Highness 3.
- Serene Highness (HSH): the Liechtenstein court gives this as the general form for its princely house, including the reigning Prince. Its FAQ also records an exception using Royal Highness. A prince’s title alone cannot establish which style applies 2.
- Imperial Majesty (HIM) and Imperial Highness (HIH) are not interchangeable. In the historical Almanach de Gotha of 1893, the German emperor’s entry has “Majesté Imp. et Roy.”, whereas the imperial prince’s entry has “Altesse Imp. et Roy.” (OCR lines 8010–8011 and 8020–8021) 5. By contrast, Japan’s Imperial Household Agency translates the emperor’s style as Majesty and that of other imperial family members as Imperial Highness. Do not silently expand the Japanese wording to Imperial Majesty 4.
- Grand Ducal Highness (HGDH): the 1893 Almanach’s Baden notice explicitly records “Altesse Grand-ducale”, alongside a distinct Royal Highness provision (OCR lines 8846–8851). This is historical evidence for that notice, not a claim about present-day Luxembourg 5.
- Illustrious Highness (HIllH) is the English label used here for Erlaucht. The 1900 Almanach preface uses “Comte Illustrissime (Erlaucht)” and warns that the position of junior family members was unclear. The translation label is not a finding that every count or every relative held it (OCR lines 109–118) 6.
How to read GOTHA’s style tiers
GOTHA’s directory groups HM/HIM first, then HRH together with HIH and HGDH, then HSH, then HIllH, then unknown. This is a directory convention, not an international treaty on precedence. It does not turn an HSH reigning prince into a non-sovereign: reigning sovereigns are considered separately before the remaining people. See the glossary links below for the full sorting method.
Verification limit. A generic title, a house name or the plain word “Highness” is not enough to assign a tier. Unmapped or unverified styles remain unknown. Historical OCR has been read as text; the corresponding scan images have not been independently collated for this article. No present-day entitlement is inferred from a nineteenth-century entry.