 During that period, he changed his surname to "Petrescu-Comnen", thus claiming lineage from the Komnenos family of Byzantine Emperors (he also claimed to be related to the Bonapartes).The change was made official by his father in 1903, and later backed by a questionable family tree and heraldry, but recognized during his induction into the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George.Petrescu's views on his family's heritage were a frequent topic of ridicule among foreign diplomats (puns on his name included the French-language "Petrescu-Quand même"—"Petrescu-All the Same", and the generic "Nicolae Perhaps-Comnen").