Thanks for the question, Anon.
The only House I can see ever used the title “High King of Dorne” was House Yronwood, that ruled the largest swath of land among the petty Dornish kings before Nymeria’s conquest (there was also a High King of Dorne by the Greenblood in ancient days, selected among a number of now-extinct houses, but considering that crown disintegrated prior to the Andal Invasion, I don’t think that style made much difference to anyone). I don’t think the reacher and marcher neighbors thought much of the style, to be honest; reacher and marcher lords have long been enemies of their Dornish neighbors (and vice versa), and if a Dornishman called himself “lord”, “high king”, or simply “ser”, his style wouldn’t change the mutual antagonism on that southern border. It would not have likely been in the interest of reachmen and men of the Dornish Marches to study the political makeup of Dorne; there could be a God-Emperor of Dorne, for all they cared, but Dornishmen were still in their minds cravens and liars and enemies. A man could call himself whatever he liked, but since there was little enough respect already held by marcher lords and reachmen for Dornish (and, if Anguy can be believed, by the Dornish for these people), a grander title would not, I think, have really affected the mindset of non-Dornish. Not that the style “high king” limited only to the Yronwoods anyway: after all, Robar II Royce had declared himself High King of the Vale after receiving the fealty of a number of petty First Men kings in his valiant but failed effort to drive back the Andals, and there had been at least 111 High Kings of the Iron Islands before Urron Greyiron made the office hereditary.
The Queen Regent (NFriel)
Actually, High King usually refers to a King who has other kings as vassals, but who hasn’t adopted the title of Emperor, usually because Emperors were believed to rule multiple nations whereas a High King ruled over one nation. So the Yronwoods having petty kings of Dorne as their vassals style themselves as High Kings of Dorne, and Robar II becomes High King of the Vale by having other First Men Kings of the Vale bend the knee.
Had Aegon I not been so insistent that all of Westeros was one kingdom, he might have crowned himself Emperor of the Seven Kingdoms or possibly Emperor of the Andals, the First Men, and the Rhoynar; or if he’d decided to keep the various kings as kings instead of as Lords Paramount, he could have called himself High King of Westeros.
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