Most Gracious Majesty

King James introduced Majesty as the official royal style to the exclusion of all others in Scotland, England and Ireland

Most Gracious Majesty is a form of address in the United Kingdom. It is an elaborate version of Your Majesty and is only used in the most formal of occasions.

Historical background

Around 1519 King Henry VIII decided Majesty should become the style of the sovereign of England. "Majesty", however, was not used exclusively; it arbitrarily alternated with both "Highness" and "Grace", even in official documents. For example, one legal judgment issued by Henry VIII uses all three indiscriminately; Article 15 begins with "the Kinges Highness hath ordered," Article 16 with "the Kinges Majestie" and Article 17 with "the Kinges Grace."

In pre-Union Scotland Sovereigns were only addressed as Your Grace.

During the reign of James VI of Scotland and I of England and Ireland, however, James made Majesty the official title, to the exclusion of others.

The style "His/Her Most Excellent Majesty" is used solely for a present or past reigning monarch. The style "Her Most Gracious Majesty" is used for the a queen consort, queen mother, or dowager queen.

See also

• Forms of address in the United Kingdom
• Style of the British Sovereign
• Your Majesty
• Your Grace

This article related to British royalty is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: British society Styles (manners of address) British royalty stubs Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную? Nikki Kerkhof Matthew DiSero Look at other dictionaries: Most Excellent Majesty — is a form of address in the United Kingdom. It is mainly used in Acts of Parliament, where the phrase the Queen s [King s] most Excellent Majesty is used in the enacting clause. The standard is as follows: “ BE IT ENACTED by the Queen s most… …   Wikipedia Gracious — Gra cious (gr[=a] sh[u^]s), a. [F. gracieux, L. gratiosus. See {Grace}.] 1. Abounding in grace or mercy; manifesting love, or bestowing mercy; characterized by grace; beneficent; merciful; disposed to show kindness or favor; condescending; as,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English Majesty — For other uses, see Majesty (disambiguation). Majesty is an English word derived ultimately from the Latin maiestas, meaning greatness . Contents 1 Origin 2 Style of a head of state 2.1 In the United Kingdom …   Wikipedia Excellency — is an honorific style given to certain members of an organization or state. Usually, people styled Excellency are heads of state, heads of government, governors, ambassadors, certain ecclesiastics, royalty, aristocracy, and military, and others… …   Wikipedia 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… …   Wikipedia Ducal Serene Highness — His/Her Ducal Serene Highness (abbreviation: HDSH) is a style used by members of certain ducal families, such as those of Nassau, Braganza and Saxe Coburg and Gotha (until 1844). v …   Wikipedia Style of the British sovereign — The precise style of British Sovereigns has varied over the years. The present style is: Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of …   Wikipedia Yola language — Infobox Language name=Yola nativename=Yola states=Ireland region=Wexford extinct=Mid 19th century speakers=extinct, developed to Hiberno English familycolor=Indo European fam2=Germanic fam3=West Germanic fam4=Anglo Frisian fam5=Anglic… …   Wikipedia Britische Königin — Der britische Monarch oder Souverän (engl. sovereign) ist das Staatsoberhaupt des Vereinigten Königreichs Großbritannien und Nordirland. Bis zum Ende des Mittelalters regierten die britischen Monarchen als alleinige Herrscher. Ihre Macht wurde… …   Deutsch Wikipedia Der König ist tot, lang lebe der König! — Der britische Monarch oder Souverän (engl. sovereign) ist das Staatsoberhaupt des Vereinigten Königreichs Großbritannien und Nordirland. Bis zum Ende des Mittelalters regierten die britischen Monarchen als alleinige Herrscher. Ihre Macht wurde… …   Deutsch Wikipedia 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”