The Swedish tax agency has rejected the request of an ordinary citizen to have ‘His Majesty’ officially added to his name.
Hans Erik apparently felt his typically Swedish moniker could benefit from a touch of royal spice.
The Tax Agency (Skatteverket), however, rejected his request to be known as ‘Hans Majestat Erik’, claiming the change could lead to confusion. “Titles used in society can often be considered to lead to misunderstandings, and are therefore unsuitable as first names,” the agency wrote as justification for denying Mr Erik’s application.
Under Swedish law, names are not permitted if they could cause discomfort or offence or, for some other reason, are deemed to be unsuitable. Part of the motivation behind the 1982 name law was to protect nobility by preventing the plebeian public from issuing their children with regal names.
Nowadays however, the rules are more commonly used to protect potentially embarrassed children from their overly-creative parents. According to The Local, ‘Ikea’ and ‘Elivs’ have been denied by the tax office, while ‘Lego’, ‘Metallica’, ‘Google’ and ‘Q’ have all been given the thumbs up.