Lèse-majesté or lese-majesty is an offence or defamation against the dignity of a ruling head of state or of the state itself. The English name for this crime is a borrowing from medieval Anglo-Norman French, where lese majesté, leze majesté or lese magestate meant 'an offence against the person or dignity of the Crown', which traces back to Classical Latin laesa māiestās, which was a form of treason against the emperor under the law of maiestas in Ancient Rome. From Wikipedia
