Heart-warming news, an excellent choice - but just how "official" is "official"? Is this just a collection of Good People thinking up a Good Idea and indulging in a bit of promotion? Is there a danger of damaging the "laureate" title by indulgent over-inflation?

To illustrate: if my wife and I were to award our Mishka the title "Cat Laureate", it would clearly meet with considerably less general approval, and possess considerably less credibility (it's ok, she's curled up asleep and not reading this), but would it be any less "official"?