Former prime minister Helen Clark pressured her former minister Margaret Shields not to accept the title Dame.
But she did not buckle, and from this afternoon, Mrs Shields will be known as Dame Margaret.
She is one of the 24 women and 48 men who will be made dames and knights at a ceremony in Wellington after the National-led Government reinstated the titles in March.
Helen Clark's Labour government abolished the titles in May 2000, replacing them with New Zealand honours.
When National restored the traditional titles, it gave the 84 people affected by the change four months to choose whether to keep their New Zealand honours or become dames and knights.
Miss Clark sent Mrs Shields a letter setting out why Labour had abolished the titles and saying she hoped she would not accept one.
Mrs Shields described Miss Clark's approach as being asked to "toe the line", but said she did not see it as a party-political issue.
She did not believe accepting the title meant she was a "royalist".
Mrs Shields said she and her former leader had "agreed to disagree".
Mrs Shields received her honour in January last year.
She has chaired the Wellington Regional Council and was a minister - of Customs, Consumer Affairs, Statistics and Women's Affairs - for six of her nine years as MP for Kapiti from 1981 to 1990.
The other former Labour MP among 84 given the title choice was ex-Speaker Margaret Wilson and there was never doubt that she would reject the title.
As Attorney-general, Ms Wilson presided over New Zealand severing appeal rights to the Privy Council.
Miss Clark, now Administrator at the United Nations Development Fund, is in New Zealand on holiday, but could not be reached for comment.
But Miss Clark is understood to have been deeply disappointed that Mrs Shields and some others to whom she awarded honours had accepted titles.
Mrs Shields said the reason she accepted the title was "overwhelming support" from the public and people who had supported her for years.
"They were annoyed when I got the award and no title."
Only 13 of the 84 people who had the option of becoming dames or knights turned down the title.
They included actor Sam Neil, academics Ranginui Walker and Vincent O'Sullivan and authors Patricia Grace, Joy Cowley and Witi Ihimaera-Smiler.
Among those accepting titles today will be former prime minister Dame Jenny Shipley, sports heroes Sir Russell Coutts, Sir Peter Snell, Sir Colin Meads, businessmen Sir Stephen Tindall and Sir Ralph Norris, and Maori leaders Sir Tumu te Heuheu and Sir Harawira Gardiner.
