His/Her Imperial Highness (abbreviation HIH) is a style used by members of an imperial family to denote imperial - as opposed to royal - status to show that the holder in question is descended from an Emperor

Emperor

An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...

 rather than a King

King

- Centers of population :* King, Ontario, CanadaIn USA:* King, Indiana* King, North Carolina* King, Lincoln County, Wisconsin* King, Waupaca County, Wisconsin* King County, Washington- Moving-image works :Television:...

 (compare His/Her Royal Highness).

Today the style has mainly fallen from use with the exception of the Imperial Family of Japan

Imperial House of Japan

The , also referred to as the Imperial Family or the Yamato Dynasty, comprises those members of the extended family of the reigning Emperor of Japan who undertake official and public duties. Under the present Constitution of Japan, the emperor is the symbol of the state and unity of the people...

 (in Japanese

Japanese language

is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...

: 殿下, denka). In the past, the style has been applied to more senior members of imperial dynasties, including the French

French Empire

The term French Empire can refer to:* Two Empires of the French founded by members of the House of Bonaparte,** The First French Empire of Napoleon I and II ** The Second French Empire of Napoleon III...

, Russian

Russian Empire

The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...

 and Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

n imperial houses, among many others. Archduke

Archduke

The title of Archduke denotes a noble rank above Duke and below King, used only by princes of the Houses of Habsburg and Habsburg-Lorraine....

s of Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

 from the Habsburg

Habsburg

The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...

 dynasty held the style of Imperial and Royal Highness

Imperial and Royal Highness

Imperial and Royal Highness is a style possessed by someone who either through birth or marriage holds two individual styles, Imperial Highness and Royal Highness....

 (in German

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

:Kaiserliche und königliche Hoheit), with the "Royal" signifying their status as Princes of Hungary and Bohemia. They were also addressed as "Imperial Highness" (Kaiserliche Hoheit). The last Shah of Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi

Mohammad Rezā Shāh Pahlavi, Shah of Iran, Shah of Persia , ruled Iran from 16 September 1941 until his overthrow by the Iranian Revolution on 11 February 1979...

 also used the style HIM, (His Imperial Majesty) and since the revolution the Imperial Pahlavi family still use the style HIM, such as for Farah Pahlavi. Members of the British royal family, theoretically, as the imperial family of India could have used the title, but did not.

See also

• Use of courtesy titles and honorifics in professional writing
  Use of courtesy titles and honorifics in professional writing
  The use of honorifics and styles differs greatly among publications in both journalism and academia. The differences are based on tradition, practical concerns , and cultural norms...