Mum's the word

I had an interesting conversation recently with Renée Purdie of Rising Star Designs, a peer of mine in the industry of freelance editing, design and email marketing. I was wondering if capitalising the word 'Mum' follows the same rules as capitalising titles like 'King' and 'Queen'.

Different editors will tell you different things when it comes to capitalisation of titles like mum, dad, aunt, uncle. Some say it's OK to allow writers to capitalise titles when they're trying to honor the person. Others say to only capitalise titles when they are in place or part of a name. I agree with the latter. For example:

Incorrect

That was why my Mum and I went to the shops.
That was why mum and I went to the shops.
My Brother and I fight a lot.
I saw brother Cavill in the courtyard.
I know the King and Queen of France love to dance.
I know king Louis and queen Francesca love to dance.
My Aunt is great.
I went to great aunt Judy's house.

Correct

That was why my mum and I went to the shops.
That was why Mum and I went to the shops.
My brother and I fight a lot.
I saw Brother Cavill in the courtyard.
I know the king and queen of France love to dance.
I know King Louis and Queen Francesca love to dance.
My aunt is great.
I went to Great Aunt Judy's house.

Please leave comments if you have any editing questions or wish to discuss this topic.

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