Many years ago in local government we had a senior member of the County Council, who insisted on being called "Captain". then he was to be appointed a Deputy Lieutenant so they checked his record, to discover that he had been an acting captain, before he lost a foot on the Normandy beaches. We then a received an instruction that "in the interests of democracy and equality" he was henceforth to be known as Mr..... As he was a pretty arrogant person (one quote "I know what consultation mans, it is when I tell my pig man there will be a new pig unit and it is going there") there were waves of sympathy....not. Sad really.