The term "Fons honorum" (Fount of honour) means a person who, by his/her position, has the sovereign right of giving legitimate titles of nobility, or membership in the knightly orders, to other people. These are, therefore, persons who are either rulers of states, heads of dynasties, or leaders of traditional (old) religious organizations. By the establishment of The Royal and Hashemite Order of the Pearl, His Majesty Muedzul Lail Tan Kiram used this sovereign right as the Sultan of the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo, as well as the Head of the Royal House of Kiram.10