News and Notes

News and Commentary from the Who2 Staff

Tuesday, August 04, 2009

The Queen is NOT Her Royal Highness

MAY I RESPECTFULLY POINT OUT THAT QUEEN ELIZABETH 2 IS NOT 'HRH' (HER ROYAL HIGHNESS), SHE IS IN FACT 'HM' -- THAT IS TO SAY -- 'HER MAJESTY.'

So writes Who2 reader Eric Ryan-Lander from the island of Madiera. He noted that we had identified the Queen as "HRH Queen Elizabeth II" in some of our photo captions.

Upon further study, including a review of Debrett's, we see that Mr. Ryan-Lander is correct. Some members of the British royal family are identified as His Royal Highness or Her Royal Highness, yes. But the monarch is not. For the Queen only, the HRH is dropped and the proper title is Her Majesty.

By the same token, Prince Charles is currently His Royal Highness, but he'll be His Majesty if and when he becomes king.

So we learned something. We've changed our captions, and we thank Mr. Ryan-Lander for the alert.

Labels: Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth II