Royal Cyphers in our villages


On 11th September 2022 King Charles III wore his royal cypher for the first time when he was proclaimed King at several state ceremonies. His cypher was the entwined CR and from now onwards it will gradually take over Queen Elizabeth II’s cypher. 
A royal cypher is a monogram used by the reigning sovereign and usually consists of their initials and title surmounted by a crown so CR stands for Charles Rex, rex being Latin for King. The use of royal initials dates from the early Tudor period and the addition of R for Regina or Rex (Queen or King) was added after Henry VIII’s reign. 
The royal cypher of Queen Elizabeth II was surmounted by St. Edward's Crown and often abbreviated to E II R as seen above the door at the Post Office building, Saxmundham:-


        
Most monarchs are crowned with St. Edward’s crown at their coronation, this was the case with Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. The gold in the crown is thought to have been fashioned from the crown of Edward the Confessor who reigned from 1042 to 1066.


      
Two hand drawn details of the crown from the stamps designed by international stamp designer Jennifer Toombs, Benhall. Left designed in 2003, right in 1978 showing the E II R cypher.
Not all monarchs were crowned with St. Edward’s crown because of its weight. Queen Victoria and Edward VII chose instead the lighter 1838 version of the Imperial State Crown as depicted in this Jubilee memorabilia dated 1897 from a Sternfield resident. Victoria’s royal cypher is shown with V I R entwined, where ‘I’ = Imperatrix, Latin for Empress (of India).  


 

Typically, royal cyphers are found on medals, stamps and commonly on postboxes:-


 
VR (Victoria Regina) on a postbox near Hurt’s Hall, Saxmundham. 
The introduction of the very first red pillar post box can be attributed to Anthony Trollope, author of Barchester Towers, who was working for the Post Office in Spring 1852 and travelled to Guernsey to solve the collection of mail on the Channel Islands. He suggested using a “letter-receiving-pillar.” Guernsey received its first three pillar boxes on 8th February 1853 and one of them is still in use today.


 
When each monarch changed new pillar boxes with a new royal cypher were introduced rather than replacing the old ones. Hence there are quite an array of boxes in Britain! 
Any new postboxes installed will feature Charles’ new cypher whether the entwined CR or perhaps C III R. The Sunday Times recently reported that of 115,000 postboxes across the country over 60 percent bear Elizabeth’s cypher and about 15 percent George V’s cypher. 
Charles’ cypher will be a rare occurrence as the number of new postboxes erected each year is only in the hundreds!
It is not only postboxes that bear the royal cypher, it is also found on telephone boxes, police helmets, government buildings and papers. In Benhall Green the E II R cypher can be seen on the bus shelter opposite Benhall House. Why is this?


      
           
Look out for the royal cypher in your village and for the new CR as it is introduced from 2022 onwards.