Meaning of "(On) Her Majesty's Secret Service"
The 1969 Bond Film was titled "On Her Majesty's Secret Service".
I have always wondered what was with the use of "On" in this phrase. Certainly, it should be "In Her Majesty's Secret Service"?
Is "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" even correct English? Does it mean anything?
Solution 1:
The preposition on has a number of different meanings depending on the context in which it is used.
In the case of "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", on is
used to describe an activity or a state
- to be on business/holiday/vacation
- The book is currently on loan.
Let's look at the term to be on active service
Someone who is on active service is taking part in a war as a member of the armed forces.
In James Bond's case he is "On Her Majesty's Secret Service"
This usage is mainly British.
As Michael Harvey pointed out in the comments:
OHMS
is used on official letters from British or Commonwealth government offices.
See Google images: On Her Majesty's Service envelopes
OHMS is the abbreviation for 'On Her Majesty's Service' or 'On His Majesty's Service'.
O.H.M.S also refers to a 1937 British comedy Film renamed You're in the Army now for American audiences. The 007 movie was probably a play on words.
In American English in service would certainly apply.
- in the armed forces
Solution 2:
Wikipedia has this:
On Her Majesty's Secret Service was written in Jamaica at Fleming's Goldeneye estate in January and February 1962, whilst the first Bond film, Dr. No was being filmed nearby. The first draft of the novel was 196 pages long and called The Belles of Hell. Fleming later changed the title after being told of a nineteenth-century sailing novel called On Her Majesty's Secret Service, seen by Fleming's friend Nicholas Henderson in Portobello Road Market.
name of the novel
Found it: On Her Majesty's Secret Service, at the British Library
Title: On Her Majesty's Secret Service. [A novel.]
Publication Details: London : I. & R. Maxwell, 1878.
Identifier: System number 001657270
Physical Description: 314 p. ; 8º.
Shelfmark(s): General Reference Collection 12356.h.32.
UIN: BLL01001657270
To find out why it's titled like that, you'd have to read it. I see no author listed.
Solution 3:
On is used here to indicate that Bond is a member of the Secret Service. For reference, please refer to the Oxford Dictionaries definition linked below.
on
PREPOSITION
4 As a member of (a committee, jury, or other body)
‘they would be allowed to serve on committees’
source - https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/on
For other examples of this type of usage, consider the following sentence.
"Tommy is on the debate team."