Serene Highness
His/Her Serene Highness (abbreviation: HSH) is a style used today by the reigning families of Liechtenstein and Monaco. It also preceded the princely titles of members of some German ruling and mediatised dynasties as well as some non-ruling but princely German noble families until 1918. It was also the form of address used for cadet members of the dynasties of France, Italy, Russia and Ernestine Saxony under their monarchies. Additionally, the treatment was granted for some, but not all, princely yet non-reigning families of Bohemia, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania and Russia by emperors or popes.
In a number of older 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 language countries, Highness was considered a higher treatment than Serene Highness.
Read more about Serene Highness: German-speaking Lands, Francophone Dominions, Italy, Russia, United Kingdom, Belgium, Hungary, Portugal, Mexico, Spain
Famous quotes containing the word serene:
“They are not callow like the young of most birds, but more perfectly developed and precocious even than chickens. The remarkably adult yet innocent expression of their open and serene eyes is very memorable. All intelligence seems reflected in them. They suggest not merely the purity of infancy, but a wisdom clarified by experience. Such an eye was not born when the bird was, but is coeval with the sky it reflects. The woods do not yield another such a gem.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)