HSH

HSH is an acronym for His Serene Highness or Her Serene Highness. The style of HSH appeared at the front of the princely titles of members of German ruling families. The style is also used today by the ruling family of Monaco and Liechtenstein.

German usage

The style Serene Highness was mainly used by the children and grandchildren of the reigning dukes and princes of the small German states that survived after the collapse of the Holy Roman Empire. It was also given to several morganatic branches of German ruling family. Queen Mary, the consort of King George V used the style Her Serene Highness as a Princess of Teck. (The dukes and princes of Teck were a branch of the Royal House of Wurtemberg). In the Republic of Venice, also called the Serene Republic, the Doge was known as "Serenissimus".

Related Topics:
Style - Holy Roman Empire - Morganatic - Queen Mary - King George V - Wurtemberg - Republic of Venice - Doge

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In most of Europe, the style of Serene Highness was considered to be lower in rank than Highness, Grand Ducal Highness, Royal Highness, and Imperial Highness. If a woman with the rank of Royal Highness married a man with the rank Serene Highness, the woman would usually retain her pre-marital style. Queen Victoria did however create those German princes and dukes who married her daughters Royal Highnesses. Their children remained Serene Highnesses.

Related Topics:
''Highness'' - ''Grand Ducal Highness'' - ''Royal Highness'' - ''Imperial Highness'' - Queen Victoria

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In Germany, the styled used is Durchlaucht. Although this is usually translated into English as Serene Highness it would be more correct to translate it as Transparency. The incorrect translation results in the inconsistency (to English speaking minds) of a mere Highness outranking a Serene Highness.

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During World War I, King George V revoked the style Serene Highness for use by those members of the British Royal Family who were British subjects.

Related Topics:
World War I - British Royal Family

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The only official current usage of the style in the German-speaking countries is by the princely house of Liechtenstein, the entirety of which bears the style. However, it is sometimes used unofficially by various formerly ruling princely houses, specifically:

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• Hohenzollern
• Lippe
• Reuss
• Schaumburg-Lippe
• Schwarzburg (now extinct)
• Waldeck and Pyrmont

Various mediatized German princely families also use the style:

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• Arenberg
• Auersperg
• Bentheim
• Erbach-Schönberg
• Esterházy von Galántha
• Fürstenberg
• Hohenlohe
• Isenburg
• Leiningen
• Leyen
• Lobkowicz
• Löwenstein-Wertheim
• Oettingen
• Salm-Horstmar
• Salm-Salm
• Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg
• Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn
• Schönburg-Hartenstein
• Schönburg-Waldenburg
• Schwarzenberg
• Solms-Braunfels
• Solms-Hohensolms-Lich
• The Prince of Starhemberg (although not junior members of the family)
• Stolberg-Stolberg
• The Prince of Stolberg-Wernigerode and his immediate family
• Thurn und Taxis
• Wied
• Windischgrätz