His/Her Imperial Highness (abbreviation HIH) is a style used by members of an imperial family to denote imperial – as opposed to royal – status to show that the holder in question is descended from an Emperor rather than a King (compare His/Her Royal Highness). The first dynasty to use the style on the generic basis were the Romanovs in the eighteenth century; the archdukes and archduchess of the House of Habsburg were only styled as Royal Highness given the officially elective nature of the Holy Roman Empire. With the establishment of the Austrian Empire in 1804 their style was changed to that of Imperial and Royal Highness.