Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

King Charles’s new royal cypher revealed

The monarchy’s seven-day period of royal mourning is coming to an end

Tony Jones
Monday 26 September 2022 17:21 EDT
King Charles pictured with red box for the first time

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The King’s new cypher has been revealed ahead of the official period of royal mourning ending.

Charles’ monogram will appear on government buildings, state documents and on some post boxes in the coming months and years.

The cypher feature’s the King’s initial C intertwined with the letter R for Rex – Latin for King – with III within the R denoting Charles III, with the crown above the letters.

The new monarch travelled to Scotland soon after the Queen’s funeral last Monday, with the period of royal mourning lasting for seven days after the late Queen’s burial.

The monogram is Charles’ personal property and was selected by the monarch from a series of designs prepared by the College of Arms. A Scottish version features the Scottish Crown, and was approved by Lord Lyon King of Arms.

It will be used by government departments and by the Royal Household for franking mail and the decision to replace cyphers will be at the discretion of individual organisations.

The process will be a gradual one and in some instances, the cyphers of previous monarchs can still be seen on public buildings and street furniture especially post boxes.

The new cypher will be used on government buildings and official papers
The new cypher will be used on government buildings and official papers (BUCKINGHAM PALACE/AFP via Getty)

The College of Arms, which designed the cyphers, was founded in 1484 and is responsible for creating and maintaining official registers of coats of arms and pedigrees.

The heralds who make up the College are members of the Royal Household and act under Crown authority.

A Cabinet Office spokesperson said of replacing the late Queen’s cypher with the Charles’ monogram: “Where changes can be made easily, such as digital branding, they can be made immediately.

“Physical items such as signage or stationery will be replaced gradually over time as the need arises.”

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in