He seems to have declared war on the King’s English as well as on the English king.
Arthur Conan Doyle (2007). “The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Short Stories: The Return of Sherlock Holmes, His Last Bow and The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (Non-slipcased Edition) (Vol. 2) (The Annotated Books)”, p.1430, W. W. Norton & Company