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Thorebane t1_j2beri6 wrote

Reply to comment by atreides78723 in Brian May gets a knighthood in New Year Honours list by StephenHunterUK

Sir is a higher prefix title in English, so it would technically be Sir. May

When being fully formal, you use the highest title before your name.

I can imagine, however, if it was something to do with your career, e.g. if you were a doctor/professor as well as a sir, you'd put the career prospect title first.

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gwaydms t1_j2btwft wrote

Sir Dr Brian*

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Pulsecode9 t1_j2d23ql wrote

Sir Brian.

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gwaydms t1_j2dhlar wrote

The title Sir should be used with the full name, or the first name alone. Not with the surname alone.

Reverend is used in a similar way, but if used with just the last name should be "The Reverend (Mr)(Mrs)(etc) Lastname".

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Pulsecode9 t1_j2cy3zr wrote

It actually replaces Dr entirely. Sir Brian, PhD.

> However, the title of 'Doctor' (Dr.) is not used in combination with 'Sir', with the knighthood taking precedence. Knighted doctors are addressed as knights, though they may still use any post-nominal letters associated with their degrees.

(source)

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Chilling_Demon t1_j2cisxb wrote

Is that correct though? For example, there was General Sir Mike Jackson - so is General ranked as higher than Sir, but Doctor isn’t?

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rikkiprince t1_j2cn3u5 wrote

Also, professor comes ahead of sir/dame, like Professor Sir Tim Berners-Lee. Not sure why Dr wouldn't.

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markuslama t1_j2d0irz wrote

I'm not sure if this is correct in the UK, but around here Professor is a job description, reserved for those who teach at a university. Dr. "only" means you have a doctorate. I imagine it would be the same for General Sir Whatever.

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ScoobyDoNot t1_j2d922d wrote

In the UK Professor is only for the highest ranks at a university, mere lecturers with PhDs don't get that title.

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lillobby6 t1_j2d9ha0 wrote

> In the case of a military officer who is also a knight, the appropriate form of address puts the professional military rank first, then the correct manner of address for the individual, then his name

According to the wikipedia page. Professor has precendence over Sir, but Dr. does not and is thus overriden.

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Grantmitch1 t1_j2d2l2k wrote

No, technically it would be Sir Brian. The knighthood takes precedence and the Dr title is dropped.

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lillobby6 t1_j2d9uy7 wrote

Sir is always followed by the forename or the full name, but not the surname.

With the correction to Dr. as others pointed out it should be Sir Brian, Sir Brian May, or Professor Sir Brian May. Additional the PhD suffix could be added.

Edit: he doesn’t currently have a professor position so that would likely be incorrect here. He was previously a university Chancellor so that may be more correct to use, though I am uncertain how the different terms would be used in this case.

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Meatchris t1_j2dafzd wrote

How does Captain fit in to all of this?

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Salty_Paroxysm t1_j2dfsmo wrote

Captain Sir Kevin Darling or Captain Darling

If you're an NCO, the first Sir is adequate. You wouldn't have to address them as 'Captain Sir Kevin Darling Sir', although they probably would just to take the piss.

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aquaman501 t1_j2dv9ht wrote

So many upvotes for completely incorrect information. And that comma is a crime against humanity.

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Learning2Learn2Live t1_j2flnhj wrote

At the uni I went to there was a Sir and he went by Sir surname followed by a bunch of letters for various things. He was a professor before being knighted. Although, he was a chancellor so I don’t think they actually teach anything.

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yamahahahahaha t1_j2ez1nt wrote

Sir is attached to the first name so you become "Sir Bob". A professor would be Professor Sir Bob Bobbins.

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