Exalted Highness (in address Your Exalted Highness and in reference His Exalted Highness, the latter is abbreviated as H.E.H.) is a formal style used to address the Nizam of Hyderabad of Berar. It is a more elevated style than His Highness.
Background
The Hyderabad State, which was the premier princely state of India, covered an area of 82,698 square miles. Upon the outbreak of World War I in Europe in 1914, the then Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, placed the resources of his state and its troops at the disposal of George V and of the British government. The first thing he did was make a £400,000 contribution towards the war expenses. He also paid, in particular, the entire cost incurred during the war by the regiment of Imperial Service Troops maintained by his own state and by the 20th Deccan Horse. The former was dispatched to Egypt in 1914 and remained in service there and in Palestine throughout the war. During the service, it saw action several times and sustained a number of casualties.
The state also deputed 100 rough-riders and 2 officers to Mathura in 1915 to train horses for the cavalry throughout the war. It appointed assistant recruiting officers, financed all recruiting expenses, and recruited 5,000 men for the Indian Army by June 1918. It also permitted European and Anglo-Indian civil officers to join the army while retaining their civil appointments, pension rights and receiving allowances, and granted special leave and pay concessions to government employees undergoing Indian Defence Force training. The state also re-armed the 20th Deccan Horse with new-pattern swords at the cost of Rs. 10,000, provided chargers to its six officers, and sold the Government of India 167 mules, 150 cavalry horses and 35 artillery horses.
The state also loaned 50 lakhs in silver bullion to the Government of India in 1918, and its mint stamp department printed and supplied, free of charge, the Madras War Fund Stamps and the Hyderabad Ladies' War Relief Association Stamps.
The state made the following financial contributions towards the war effort: No.DescriptionTypeAmount (Rs.)Reference14% loan of 1916–1917Subscriptions to the War Loans39,00,00025% loan of 1929–194775,00,00035½% War Bonds repayable in 192150,00,0004Contribution towards payment of the war charges of the 20th Deccan Horse and 1st Hyderabad Imperial Service CavalryFree gifts1,53,00,0005Contribution towards the Prince of Wales's Relief Fund1,00,0006Contribution to the Imperial Relief Fund of India1,00,0007Contribution to the admiralty in aid of the Anti-Submarine Campaign15,00,0008Special donation towards the prosecution of the war15,00,0009Contribution from the "Our Day" collections to the Red Cross1,00,00010Contribution to Their Majesties for the relief of sufferers from the war on the occasion of their 25th wedding anniversary3,75,00011Share of the expenditure of Hospital Ship Loyalty2,00,00012Other subscriptionsSubscriptions1,44,000
Origin This special style of Exalted Highness originated on 24 January 1918, when George V, in recognition of the help provided and services rendered by Mir Osman Ali Khan and his state during World War I, singled him out from the rest of the ruling princes of India and conferred upon him this style as a hereditary distinction.
Text The text of the letter dated 24 January 1918, which George V wrote from Buckingham Palace to Mir Osman Ali Khan to confer this style on him, is below: References