Advertisement

King Charles’s new cypher stamped on Buckingham Palace post for the first time

The new cypher - PA
The new cypher - PA

The first items of mail were on Tuesday franked with King Charles’s new cypher after he requested a stock of envelopes to begin ploughing through his correspondence.

The cypher, featuring the King’s intertwined initials, CR for Charles Rex below a depiction of the Tudor Crown, was chosen from a series of ten pencil designs presented to the King by the College of Arms.

The final colour version, described as a solely personal choice, was presented to him just last week for formal approval.

The cypher was printed onto a series of blank envelopes in the Court Post Room at Buckingham Palace.

It will feature on all mail sent out of the palace, which averages around 200,000 items a year.

The cypher was downloaded and installed as a simple software graphic, allowing the Royal Mail staff based in the post room to frank the mail electronically.

Only critical items were sent from the palace during the period of Royal mourning, meaning that employees now face a sizable backlog.

David White, Garter King of Arms, revealed that artist Timothy Noad had created the ten drafts of the cypher presented to the King in just three or four days - Getty Images Europe
David White, Garter King of Arms, revealed that artist Timothy Noad had created the ten drafts of the cypher presented to the King in just three or four days - Getty Images Europe
The cypher will feature on all mail sent out of Buckingham Palace, which averages around 200,000 items a year - PA
The cypher will feature on all mail sent out of Buckingham Palace, which averages around 200,000 items a year - PA

For the King, who is expected to remain in Scotland this week, the end of the mourning period means getting back to the business of responding to the mountain of mail he has received in recent weeks, including the thousands of condolence messages that have poured in from around the world since the Queen’s death.

David White, Garter King of Arms, said the majority of the ten cypher designs presented to the King had featured a representation of the Tudor crown, which features two arches surmounted by an orb.

A Scottish version of the cypher features the Scottish Crown and was approved by Lord Lyon King of Arms.

Mr White revealed that artist Timothy Noad, who has worked for the College of Arms for 35 years, had created the ten drafts in just three or four days.

“He’s quite a fast worker,” he said. “But he probably would have been thinking about them for a while beforehand. He’s good, he knows what is required and what he can do.”

He added: “The important thing to remember is that the designs are stylised and simplified versions of the Royal Crown.

“They feature standard details, just as they have appeared in heraldry for a long time.

“It’s the very personal mark of the sovereign, whereas the Royal Arms do not necessarily change from reign to reign, the cypher does.

“It features everything we need to know, his initials and the crown as the symbol of ultimate authority. I think it will become very familiar.”

The final colour version of the new cypher features the King’s intertwined initials, CR for Charles Rex, below a depiction of the Tudor crown - Reuters
The final colour version of the new cypher features the King’s intertwined initials, CR for Charles Rex, below a depiction of the Tudor crown - Reuters

The decision to replace cyphers will be at the discretion of individual organisations.

Mr White said the same gradual change occurred when Queen Elizabeth II’s cypher was chosen in 1952, meaning that Naval officers wore uniforms bearing King George VI’s crown “well into the late 1960s.”

However, he added: “I think people will start recognising it and seeing it around fairly quickly.”

Mr White said he thought the King’s cypher was most similar to that chosen by Edward VII, although he did not think it had been consciously modelled on that design.

“It is different and distinct from all of them,” he added.

“I’m sure when we look back in many years to come it will have a look of 2022. Every cypher reflects its period.”

Stella Panayotova, a royal librarian, said a balance needed to be found between historical accuracy, heraldic accuracy and aesthetics with Royal cyphers.

“This is a symbol that the public will really identify with a monarch and convey all of that significance,” she said.