We can be Royals

No easy way to casually mention this subject so I'm just going to dive right in and figure out how to best express my thoughts on this.  

I've noticed over the years that I tend to use both terms of endearment and honorifics for certain people in my life.  I'm sure most of you are familiar with what a term of endearment is.  Sweetheart, honey, loobie doo, meeps, what have you.  Just a casual, friendly term or phrase that you use with people you're close to.  Or if you're from the south, you use them with everybody.  Darlin', sugar are just a couple that come to mind.  They're generally something you'll use with people you're comfortable with and even on on friendly terms.  
Although I've noticed that there's been a definite generational dividing line between who finds those terms acceptable and who doesn't.  MANY is the time over the past several years where a term I use has suddenly become an issue with people.  As an example, I used to send a good morning message to my lady friends.  Never meant to imply anything other than trying to come up with a new way to say "Good morning!" and to let them know they were on my mind, even if we didn't get a chance to talk much during the day.  The messages started off with Miss or Ma'am, then Fraulein, Mademoiselle, Senorita and those eventually gave way to different candies or sweets, especially around Halloween.  Christmas season brought about "Good morning Sugar Plum!"  You get the idea. 
It was when I started bringing up phrases from pre-WWII that the recipients started to protest a little at the implications.  Doll, toots, and Doll face...  wow, Doll face was a deal breaker for one girl.  She wasn't having it.  Again, not at all what I intended but how it was received makes all the difference.  I even used a lyric to a popular song once and was told in no uncertain terms that it was inappropriate.  
And for some friends, they wanted nothing to do with these terms altogether.  And that's where the generational thing pops in.  These friends all happened to be of the younger generation.  I hate to use the term "Millennials" but, that's exactly the age group that was most offended that I dare use anything other than their name.  I've got another bone to pick with Millennials and their perspective on socializing but that's a whole other issue.  Just because I'm inviting you out for a drink to celebrate your new job or a birthday does NOT mean I'm trying to hook up with you.  Get over yourself.  O.k., mini-vent over. 
What that all meant for me though is that, rather than trying to navigate the minefield of trying to not offend anyone, I just stopped sending out morning messages altogether.  So if you've been curious as to what happened to all of those, now you know.  

But the other thing I do and it didn't even occur to me that I was doing it involved honorifics.  And to save you the Google search if you don't know, an honorific is similar to a title.  Sir, Ma'am are the most common but even Doctor, Professor, Coach, Dean, Reverend, etc. are honorifics.  And of course, there's royalty.  Your Highness, King, Queen, Princess, Duke, Baron, etc. 
I actually started thinking about this the other night when I met a girl named Leia.  Yes, JUST like the Princess General.  Seems her parents were huge fans of Star Wars and she was born in '79 and just named her after the character.  Before the end of the night, I was calling her Princess and she was calling me King.  Now, for those of you who don't know, my nickname/honorific came about as a joke.  I feel like I've told this story countless times over the years and I'm sure I will again at some point.  But for now, a lot of people know me as King Louie and I'm ok with that, even though the nickname started off within just my immediate family.  But then I remembered way back in the day, we're talking the late 70s, before the turn of the century.  Dad had started calling his little girl, my sister, La Reyna.  The Queen.  It took her until her late 20s to really own that distinction and now she'll mention it from time to time.

"You know who La Reyna is." lol
I noticed I had started doing something similar but the titles of royalty had been limited to princesses.  I was subconsciously calling my own nieces Princesses.  Every other young lady was Miss but the two young ladies that were closest to me were reserved as royalty.  And I still do it to this day.  My two nieces are still Princesses and now one of my princesses has a princess of her own that I call her that, as well.  And the daughters of friends whom I'm closest to, I've started referring to as princesses.  
I mean, it makes sense that the king is bestowing these titles.