do I write embassy and honorary consulate in a sentence with a capital letter?

Answer

Dear Andrea

We never capitalize the words embassy and honorary consulate (unless as the first word of a sentence), even when we refer to a specific embassy/honorary consulate. After all, it’s not about proper names, but about generic names. For example, we write the Court of Cassation, because that is the official name (the proper name) of the institution (and there is only one in Belgium), but the Court of Assize because it is not a proper name but a generic name, which always refers after a specific example of the judicial body (eg the court of assizes of Ghent). So: the relevant embassy/honorary consulate, the embassy of Belgium, the Belgian embassy, ​​…

Incidentally, we never write the titles or job titles ambassador and honorary consul (just like prime minister, king and pope) with a capital letter, even if they are followed by a name. For example:

• The king appoints and dismisses ministers.
• The first head of state of Belgium was King Leopold I.

More information and examples can be found in the guideline of the Dutch Language Glossary of the Nederlandse Taalunie.

Sincerely

Lieven Buysse