TrueIsis33

Hi!

I am on the final draft of an essay that is due tomorrow and none of my editor's (including my instructor) noticed that I used improper capitalization (I know because I used it both ways and one of them has to be wrong).

I am talking about a king and queen unnamed. Below is a short exerpt of the paragraph I would like help with please.

The Queen had heard that Egyptians had magical powers. Isis helped the yound child; she granted the child the gift of immortality. The King offered Isis whatever she wanted to repay Isis for saving the baby's life. Isis asked the King for the pillar and the king readily agreed.

Since I don't know the King's name, do I need to capitalize the word "king"?

Thank you all very much for the advise.

Queasy Dillo

To the best of my knowlege, the titles of royalty only have to be capitalized when paired with a name.

For example:

If you were talking about somebody named King Carl, then you would capitalize 'King'.

If you were discussing a generic royal who doesn't play much of a part and is never named and discussedin detail, then I would think 'king' or 'queen' would be acceptable.

Or so that's my understanding.

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Talia_Brie

I think yes, because it is a title. The same way you always capitalise Prime Minister and President etc.

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Saje

My trusty CP (Canadian Press) Caps and Spelling book says:
Queen (of Canada), queen (other nations)

Which makes me believe that it is not so much a question of mechanics as of style.

I'd say that as long as you are consistent whichever you choose would work. Better ask your prof to make sure.

Spudley

When you are using a title as the definite article, it should always be capitalised - ie the Queen, the President, etc.

On the other hand, if you're using the title in a more general sense, it shouldn't be - ie "There have only been two queens named Elizabeth", or "The next king will be crowned after the current queen dies."

I hope that helps.

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Talia_Brie

I think here she's referring to the Queen and the King. Despite not having their names, she is referring to actual people, so it should be capitalised. IMO

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Capulet

muahahahahah! i've been waiting for months for something like this to occur! i'm a sleeper agent for the bauhaus don't you know? :p

down with capitalization! it's confusing and harder to read! ! !

bauhaus!bauhaus!bauhaus!bauhaus!bauhaus!bauhaus!ba uhaus!bauhaus!

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