diff --git a/src/PhpWord/Writer/HTML/Part/Head.php b/src/PhpWord/Writer/HTML/Part/Head.php
index 055e1b5eb1..79d34e3ad9 100644
--- a/src/PhpWord/Writer/HTML/Part/Head.php
+++ b/src/PhpWord/Writer/HTML/Part/Head.php
@@ -98,7 +98,9 @@ private function writeStyles()
 
         // Default styles
         $defaultStyles = array(
-            '*' => array(
+            // 'html' is used instead of '*' to ensure nested elements inherit from their parents.
+            // `h1 > span` should have the same font size as the `h1` parent.
+            'html' => array(
                 'font-family' => Settings::getDefaultFontName(),
                 'font-size'   => Settings::getDefaultFontSize()->toInt('pt') . 'pt',
             ),
diff --git a/tests/PhpWord/Shared/HtmlTest.php b/tests/PhpWord/Shared/HtmlTest.php
index 700fc79b53..54b99d9d2e 100644
--- a/tests/PhpWord/Shared/HtmlTest.php
+++ b/tests/PhpWord/Shared/HtmlTest.php
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ public function testRoundTripHeadings()
 <meta charset="UTF-8" />
 <title>PHPWord</title>
 <style title="PHPWord Base Styles">
-* {font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;}
+html {font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;}
 a.NoteRef {text-decoration: none;}
 hr {height: 1px; padding: 0; margin: 1em 0; border: 0; border-top: 1px solid #CCC;}
 table {border: 1px solid black; border-spacing: 0px; width : 100%;}