King Charles III puts a stamp on the Royal Mail

After the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022 and the following year's coronation of King Charles III, changes were made regarding the Royal Family. Among them were the fact that the line of succession now included a prince and princess who lived in America and the titles of Prince and Princess of Wales passing to William and Catherine.

Cosmetic changes have been slower in coming. Portraits have been unveiled of the new monarch since he assumed the throne and King Charles banknotes began circulating in June of 2024.

Paying homage to the monarch throughout history

A social media account for The Royal Family has published images of the King's cypher taking its place on vehicles and postboxes associated with The Royal Mail. This stylized emblem has been in use since September 2022, when the mourning period for Queen Elizabeth II ended. According to Newsweek, this is a representation of the monarchy with a rich history:

"The king or queen of the day selects their own cypher from designs supplied to them by The College of Arms, which was founded in 1484 and has jurisdiction over the heraldic matters of England, Wales, Northern Ireland. By tradition, the monarch has a different royal cypher in Scotland, which is approved by the Lord Lyon King of Arms, a representative of the Scottish state."

- James Crawford-Smith

Further, this is "the personal monogram of the monarch.....[and] is considered the personal property of the monarch and is only allowed to be used officially with their permission." Cyphers have been publicly used to denote the current monarch since the reign of Queen Victoria.

CR III and what the cypher means

The current king's cypher uses the Tudor crown, last seen in the emblem of King George IV. In the Scottish cypher, this is replaced by a depiction of the crown of Scotland. Below these crowns are the intertwined letters C.R., standing for "Charles Rex" or "King Charles." The Roman numeral III calls attention to this king being the third King Charles to rule.

It is to be noted that the use of this new cypher is up to the organization or individuals using it. In this case, many of the postboxes would not normally be changed unless they needed replacing. The emblem of Queen Victoria can still be found in some places, but it is expected that King Charles III's cypher will be seen in more widespread use in years to come.