diff --git a/src/msw/menu.cpp b/src/msw/menu.cpp
index 9df0797d69..155372dbc1 100644
--- a/src/msw/menu.cpp
+++ b/src/msw/menu.cpp
@@ -281,8 +281,9 @@ void wxMenu::Init()
     // if we have a title, insert it in the beginning of the menu
     if ( !m_title.empty() )
     {
-        Append(idMenuTitle, m_title);
-        AppendSeparator();
+        const wxString title = m_title;
+        m_title.clear(); // so that SetTitle() knows there was no title before
+        SetTitle(title);
     }
 }