Capitalization question for titles

kaitie · 2024-05-14T13:26:21-0700

I have a character in my fantasy who has a title that is basically "queen" (though it means more like "ruler" the way I'm using it).

I know if I say something like "the queen" or "the ruler" it's not capitalized. I also assume that if I gave her full title, like "Queen Elizabeth of England" or something, it would be capitalized.

What's throwing me is that I have a frequent occurrence where she is referred to by the title alone. A bad pretend example: "Yes, that is right, queen." I feel like the grammatically appropriate thing would be to capitalize this because it looks like a name. However, I don't like the look of it, and in my head it's closer to saying, "Yes, my queen" (which wouldn't be capitalized, right?).

Do I have to capitalize it in this instance? If so, can I add "my" to get around it? I just really dislike the look of it capitalized in the middle of a sentence.

CMBright · 2024-05-14T13:39:58-0700

Short answer? It is my understanding that if someone is addressing her by her title as a name, it is upper case. If a character is talking about her down at the pub, he'd refer to the queen in lower case. If the title is used as part of her official name, it would definitely be Queen [Name].

At least that is my understanding from lurking here. I am sure someone will come along shortly with the appropriate rules from one style manual or another.

Unimportant · 2024-05-14T13:47:01-0700

kaitie said:
I have a character in my fantasy who has a title that is basically "queen" (though it means more like "ruler" the way I'm using it).

I know if I say something like "the queen" or "the ruler" it's not capitalized. I also assume that if I gave her full title, like "Queen Elizabeth of England" or something, it would be capitalized.

What's throwing me is that I have a frequent occurrence where she is referred to by the title alone. A bad pretend example: "Yes, that is right, queen." I feel like the grammatically appropriate thing would be to capitalize this because it looks like a name. However, I don't like the look of it, and in my head it's closer to saying, "Yes, my queen" (which wouldn't be capitalized, right?).

Do I have to capitalize it in this instance? If so, can I add "my" to get around it? I just really dislike the look of it capitalized in the middle of a sentence.

What I think is right, but hopefully someone with more knowledge will come along, is that if they're being referred to by name, it's capitalised. If they're being referred to by position, it's not capitalised. If they're being addressed, it's capitalised.

~~Yes, my Queen, I agree with you.~~ ETA to get it right as per Maryn, who is indeed the Queen of All This Stuff: Yes, my queen, I agree with you.
Yes, your Royal Highness, I agree with you.
Yes, your Royal Highness, I agree with you, and would further add that the queen is always right.
Do you agree with the words of Queen Elizabeth?
Do you agree with the words of the queen?

Maryn · 2024-05-14T13:58:10-0700

Unimportant said:
What I think is right, but hopefully someone with more knowledge will come along...

That's me! The Chicago Manual of Style (which we all agree was never intended for fiction) says in section 8.19 about names and titles:

A title used alone, in place of a personal name, is capitalized only in such contexts as a toast or a formal introduction, or when used in direct address.

"Yes, that is right, queen." <--queen is a direct address, taking the place of the woman's name, so it would be capitalized.
"Yes, that is right, my queen." <--my queen is not a name substitute, so no caps.

kaitie · 2024-05-14T15:21:02-0700

Thanks guys! This is very helpful.

Capitalization question for titles

kaitie

With great power comes

CMBright

Cats are easy, Mice are tough

Unimportant

No COVID yet. Still masking.

Maryn

Baaa!

kaitie

With great power comes