Wednesday, May 19, 2010

What does "Queen's Highness" mean?

It had borne all the ships whose names are like jewels flashing in the night of time, from the GOLDEN HIND returning with her rotund flanks full of treasure, to be visited by the Queen's Highness and thus pass out of the gigantic tale, to the EREBUS and TERROR, bound on other conquests -- and that never returned. It had known the ships and the men.

What does "Queen's Highness" mean?
Oh, that's an easy one. It means "a- pain-in- the -neck"
Reply:In English usage, the terms Highness, Grace (which is not used exclusively for the sovereign), and Majesty, were all used as honorific styles of Kings and Queens until the time of James I of England. Thus in documents relating to the reign of Henry VIII of England, all three styles are used indiscriminately. The term "Queen's Highness" was commonly used to address Queen Elizabeth I of England, especially for legal documents and public announcements.





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 honor, to signify exalted rank or station.


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