When do we use HH and HE (his highness and his excellensy)?

Question

When do we use HH and HE (his highness and his excellensy)?

Answer 1

HH his royal highness is used to those who has a royal title (e.g. Queen, King, Prince, Princess etc.) HE his excellensy is used to dignitaries,head of states,ambassador,etc.

Answer 2

HE is used for ambassadors (or High Commissioners between Commonwealth countries). A lot of countries also use it for their Presidents. Commonwealth Countries that have the Queen as their head of State use it for their Governor-Generals as well. It's never used for monarchs (although they may be referred to officially as their "Excellent Majesty").

A few countries use HH but most Royal Families use another letter, e.g Japan uses HIH (His/Her Imperial Highness). The UK uses HRH (His/her Royal Highness). Monaco uses HSH (His/her Serene Highness).



HH is rarely if ever used in the UK, however, Junior members of the Danish and Dutch royal families use that title, Ducal families of Germany tend to also use that title.

Answer 3

Daniel is pretty much right, except that HH is no longer used at all in the UK. It used to be the title of royal great-grandchildren, but the last holder of this title died decades ago. It may have been the Duchess of Fife in 1958 or '59.

In short, HH is always a royal title and HE is an earned title referring to one's office.