How to address a king/queen in Spanish ?
Should you call a king/queen usted, tu or vos ?
I'm reading some Spanish kids' books just now & in one of them it seems a character calls the king 'vos'. Is this correct ? It kind of makes sense when compared with English where traditionally the monarch refers to him/herself as 'we'.
Would a Spanish king/queen call him/herself 'nos' ?
Somos el rey ?
8 Answers
" Vos" en español antiguo, constituía un pronombre respetuoso de la segunda persona del singular usado entre iguales, o bien por un superior hacia un inferior o subalterno.
Para dirigirse a personas importantes o con algún tipo de dignidad oficial que no formaran parte de la nobleza se empleaba "Vuestra merced". Para la nobleza, altos dignatarios de la iglesia o incluso del poder público, se utilizaba "Vuestra Excelencia" y "Vuestra Señoría".
El tratamiento para el rey y la reina, era "Vuestra Majestad". Contemporáneamente se utiliza "Su Majestad", como señala Paco Finkler.
Por supuesto, siempre existió gente que desconociendo las fórmulas de cortesía y respeto para dirigirse a las personas según su rango social o político, emplearan erróneamente unas por otras.
Sirve de ilustración a los interesados el siguiente artículo:
The King and Queen, in old Spanish ( prior to the 20th century) refer to themselves as "nos" ( the "royal" we). This was not always the case, Many times in written communication the King or Queen would use; " Yo, El Rey" or " Yo, La Reina".
Officials or supplicants would address them as " Su Majestad" which is still used, or " Vuestra Majestad".
This observation comes from my direct examination of Spanish documents in the University historical archive here in Mexico written prior to the 20th century.
I hate to argue with Gex, but I have to. I will do so by simply quoting Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T–V_distinction
In the Early Middle Ages, the pronoun vos was used to address the most exalted figures, emperors and popes, who would use the pronoun tu to address a subject. This use was progressively extended to other states and societies, and down the social hierarchy as a mark of respect to individuals of higher rank, religious authority, greater wealth, or seniority within a family.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T–V_distinction#Spanish
In Peninsular, Mexican, and Peruvian Spanish, as in Italian, an original tú and vos usage similar to French disappeared in the Early Modern period. Today, tú is used for informal and familiar address while the respectful form is the third-person usted, which evolved from the title vuestra merced ("Your Grace"). In some cases, the title Don is also employed when speaking to a respected older man.
Among Spanish dialects, the situation is muddied by the kingdom's former empire having been created during the middle of this linguistic shift. The area around Colombia's capital Bogotá (although not the city itself) preserve an alternate respectful form sumercé simplified from a different contraction of vuestra merced. In Rioplatense, vos was preserved – but as a replacement for tú and not as a respectful form of address; in Chile and Central America,vos is used in spoken address and tú is used in print and to express moderate formality, that is, it has essentially switched its function to vos's former role.
In the second-person plural, modern Spanish speakers in most of Iberia employ vosotros informally and (as a the third-person plural) ustedes to express respect. In western Andalucia and Extremadura, ustedes is used in both contexts, but its verbs are conjugated in the second-person plural. Throughout the Americas and the Canaries, ustedes is used in all contexts and in the third person.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voseo
**Voseo (Spanish pronunciation: [bo?se.o]) is the use of vos as a second person singular pronoun, including its conjugational verb forms in many dialects of Spanish. In dialects that have it, it is used either instead of tú, or alongside it. Use of "tú" is known as "tuteo".
Vos is used extensively as the primary form of the second person singular in Rioplatense Spanish (Argentina, Uruguay, eastern Bolivia) and Paraguayan Spanish.**
The Central American Spanish (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, southern parts of Chiapas in Mexico) also exhibits an extensive use of vos, though in Northern Central America the media use tú more frequently. In Nicaragua and Costa Rica, tú is used less frequently.[citation needed]
Vos had not been traditionally used in formal writing except in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. This gradually changed in Central America, where even the most prestigious media networks and press began to use the pronounvos, reflecting the informal address in Spanish as opposed to the formal address of usted. Nowadays it is very common to see billboards and other advertising media using voseo. In the dialect of Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay (known as Rioplatense Spanish), vos is also the standard form for use in television media.
Vos is present in other countries as a regionalism, for instance in the Maracucho Spanish of Zulia State, Venezuela (see Venezuelan Spanish), in the Azuero peninsula of Panama, in various departments in Colombia, and in parts of Ecuador (Sierra down to Esmeraldas). In Peru, voseo is present in some Andean regions and Cajamarca, but the younger generations have ceased to use it. It is also present in Ladino (spoken by Sephardic Jewsthroughout Israel, Turkey, the Balkans, Morocco, Latin America and the United States), where it replaces usted. In the United States, Salvadoran Americans are by far the largest Voseo speakers followed by other Central Americans, Hondurans, Nicaraguans, and Costa Rican
Absolutly avoid ' tu'. If you go to Sweden, where we have almost lost our ' usted' equivalent 'ni', you might get away with saying ' du' to the king. But in Spain, no.
Nowadays , use ' usted' or ' su majestad' . In the past ' vos' was used. it works exactly like the French 'vous' . The Royal 'we' is used, I think , but as we're not Royal ourselves, we don't have to worry about that, let the king do his own worrying.
Hi 
Good morning. :D
Well, "Vos" only used in España and i´m not sure when the people use "vos" but i believe make to reference "you".
In México when the people speak with their boss or teacher, or profesional people, we use "usted" in sign for respect to them.
Somos los reyes.
Thanks. This means I read it correctly & wasn't going (more) crazy.
in central America and south America they use the vos
I felt the post from Clio most interesting, so I thought I would try my hand to translate it.
"Vos" in old Spanish constituted a respectful pronoun form of the second person singular used between equals, or by a superior to an inferior or subordinate.
To address persons of importance or official dignitaries not part of the nobility" Vuestra merced" was used. For the nobility, high dignitaries of the church, including high public officials, " Vuestra Excelencia" or "Vuestra Señoría" was used.
To address the King and the Queen, "Vuestra Majestad" was used. Currently "Su Majestad" is used, as indicated by Pacofinkler.
Of course there were always people that unaware of the formulas of courtesy and respect,to address persons according to their social or political rank mistakenly used one for the other.
The following article will serve as an illustration for those interested. (Click "article" in Clio's post)
Since this is an attempt at translation corrections are appreciated
