Your Majesty

English

Proper noun

Your Majesty (plural Your Majesties)

1. (formal) A term of address used in direct address to a monarch of higher rank than a prince, such as a king, queen, emperor, or empress.
   • 1991 [1063 CE], Patricia Buckley Ebrey, quoting Ssu-ma Kuang, “Comabting Heterodoxy and Vulgarity in Weddings and Funerals”, in Confucianism and Family Rituals in Imperial China: A Social History of Writing about Rites‎^[1], Princeton University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 72:

     I have heard that Your Majesty wishes to have the great burial on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month and that the court has sent its commissioner to supervise the tomb work. I do not know if a site has yet been chosen. Some say that there are plans to search widely outside of Yung-an county [where the previous Sung imperial tombs were located] for an auspicious site. In my ignorance, I consider this to be a mistake.

2. (informal, sarcastic) A sarcastic term of address to anyone who is (or is acting) pompous or bossy.

Usage notes

• If the reigning monarch is a prince or princess, the form is Your Highness.
• The exact forms vary somewhat from country to country.

Translations

term of address

• Arabic: جَلَالَتُكَ (jalālatuka) (to masc sg), جَلَالَتُكِ (jalālatuki) (to fem sg)
• Armenian: Ձերդ Մեծություն (Jerd Mecutʻyun), Ձերդ Վեհություն (Jerd Vehutʻyun)
• Azerbaijani: Əlahəzrət
• Belarusian: Ва́ша Вялі́касць f (Váša Vjalíkascʹ), Ва́ша Вялі́касьць f (Váša Vjalíkasʹcʹ) (Taraškievica)
• Bengali: মহামহিম (bn) (mohamohim)
• Bulgarian: Ва́ше Вели́чество n (Váše Velíčestvo)
• Catalan: Sa Majestat f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 陛下 (zh) (bìxià), 萬歲／万岁 (zh) (wànsuì)

• Czech: Vaše Veličenstvo n
• Danish: Deres Majestæt
• Dutch: Uwe Majesteit f
• Esperanto: Via Reĝa Moŝto, Via Reĝa Moŝtino, Via Imperiala Moŝto, Via Imperiala Moŝtino
• Estonian: Teie Majesteet
• Faroese: Tygara Hátign
• Finnish: Teidän Majesteettinne
• French: Votre Majesté (fr) f, sire (fr) m
• Galician: A súa Maxestade f
• Georgian: თქვენო უდიდებულესობავ (tkveno udidebulesobav)
• German: Eure Majestät f, Euer Majestät f
• Greek: Μεγαλειότατε (el) m (Megaleiótate), Μεγαλειοτάτη f (Megaleiotáti)
• Gujarati: તમારી ભવ્યતા (tamārī bhavyatā)
• Hebrew: הוד מעלתך m (hod ma'alatkhá)
• Hindi: महाराज (hi) m (mahārāj), महारानी f (mahārānī)
• Hungarian: Őfelsége
• Icelandic: Yðar Hátign
• Indonesian: Yang Mulia
• Irish: do mhaorga
• Italian: Sua Maestà f, Vostra Maestà f
• Japanese: 陛下 (ja) (へいか, heika)
• Kannada: ನಿಮ್ಮ ಮಹಿಮೆ (nimma mahime)
• Korean: 폐하(陛下) (ko) (pyeha), 마마 (ko) (mama)
• Latin: Maiestas Tua
• Macedonian: Ваше Величество n (Vaše Veličestvo)
• Malay: Tuanku, tuanku
• Maori: Tōu Whakaritenga
• Nepali: तपाईंको महिमा (tapāīṃko mahimā)
• Norwegian: Deres Majestet
• Nupe: Bagandòzhì
• Polish: Wasza Wysokość (pl) f
• Portuguese: Vossa Majestade (pt) f
• Romanian: Majestatea Voastră f
• Russian: госуда́рь (ru) m (gosudárʹ), Ва́ше Вели́чество n (Váše Velíčestvo)
• Scottish Gaelic: Ur Mhòrachd
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: Ваше Величанство n, Ваше Височанство n, Ваша Висости

  Roman: Vaše Veličanstvo n, Vaše Visočanstvo n, Vaša Visosti

• Sinhalese: උතුමාණනි (utumāṇani)
• Slovak: Vaše Veličenstvo n
• Slovene: Vaše Veličanstvo n
• Spanish: Su Majestad f
• Swedish: Ers Majestät c, Eders Majestät c (solemn)
• Tamil: உமது கம்பீரம் (umatu kampīram)
• Telugu: మీ ఘనత (mī ghanata)
• Turkish: Majesteleri
• Ukrainian: Ва́ша Вели́чність f (Váša Velýčnistʹ)
• Vietnamese: bệ hạ (vi) (陛下)
• Volapük: ol, o mayedal !
• Welsh: Eich Mawrhydi
• Yoruba: Kábíyèsí

Pronoun

Your Majesty (plural Your Majesties)

1. (formal) you (in direct address to such a monarch)
   • c. 1606 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Macbeth”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene vi]:

     All our service,
     In every point twice done and then double done,
     Were poor and single business to contend
     Against whose honors deep and broad wherewith
     Your Majesty loads our house.

   • c. 1845, Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte-Cristo, page 59:

     “Sire,” said Villefort, “the rapidity of the event must prove to your majesty that God alone can prevent it, by raising a tempest; what your majesty is pleased to attribute to me as profound perspicacity is simply owing to chance; and I have profited by that chance, like a good and devoted servant—that's all. Do not attribute to me more than I deserve, sire, that your majesty may never have occasion to recall the first opinion you have been pleased to form of me.”

Alternative forms

• His Majesty, Her Majesty (third person)

See also

Third person - female (Her)	Third person - male (His)	Second person (Your)	Third person - plural (Their)
Her Britannic Majesty	His Britannic Majesty	Your Britannic Majesty
Her Excellency	His Excellency	Your Excellency
Her Highness	His Highness	Your Highness
Her Imperial Highness	His Imperial Highness	Your Imperial Highness
Her Imperial Majesty	His Imperial Majesty	Your Imperial Majesty
Her Maj	His Maj	Your Maj
Her Majesty	His Majesty	Your Majesty	Their Majesties
Her Royal Highness	His Royal Highness	Your Royal Highness	Their Royal Highnesses
Her Royal Majesty	His Royal Majesty	Your Royal Majesty