On His Majesty's Service: Difference between revisions
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Adding local short description: "Franking on official documents in Commonwealth countries", overriding Wikidata description "initialism for On Her Majesty's Service or On His Majesty's Service; official franking commonly seen on correspondence from government departments in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and others in the Commonwealth realms" |
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Revision as of 06:47, 13 December 2022
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On His Majesty's Service or On Her Majesty's Service (depending on the sex of the reigning monarch), is an official franking commonly seen on correspondence from government departments in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and other countries that share the same monarch as their head of state (now known as Commonwealth realms).
The expanded form, On His/Her Britannic Majesty's Service has been used for international correspondence, for example for mail to British diplomatic posts in other countries.
In Canada, the initialism O.H.M.S. may be written on an envelope instead of using postage stamps for any letters being sent to the House of Commons of Canada or to any member of the Parliament of Canada.[1] Letters sent from lieutenant-governors may also bear the O.H.M.S. mark. The French translation Service de sa Majesté (SDSM) is also used.
In Australia before Federation, letters in envelopes franked with the O.H.M.S. mark were exempt from postal fees.[2]
In popular culture
- O.H.M.S. is a 1937 action comedy film.
- The title of Ian Fleming's 1963 James Bond novel On Her Majesty's Secret Service, along with its film adaptation, is a play on the term.
See also
- Britannic Majesty for the designation On His Britannic Majesty's Service.
References
- ^ Legislative Services Branch. "Canada Post Corporation Act, s.35(2)". laws-lois.justice.gc.ca. Retrieved 2017-03-01.
- ^ "Notice to advertisers – VII. Exemption from Postage Rates". The Age. 12 December 1867. Retrieved 18 April 2018.