King Charles III’s cypher was revealed on Tuesday, 27 September 2022.

Actually, King Charles has two: an English cypher and a Scottish one.

The College of Arms created a series of designs and King Charles selected the cypher which is the Sovereign’s personal monogram, consisting of his name and the title, Rex (Latin for ‘King’) alongside a representation of the Crown.

His mother used ‘Elizabeth Regina’ (Latin for ‘Queen’) for her cypher.

The cypher is the personal property of The King and will also be used by various government departments.

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

The College of Arms 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.

King Charles’s cypher will begin to appear on government buildings, state documents and on some post boxes – signalling the end of official mourning for Queen Elizabeth II in the United Kingdom.

The process to replace cyphers will be gradual and at the discretion of various individual organisations.

The Royal Post Office

The Royal Household began using the King’s cypher for franking mail in the Court Post Office at Buckingham Palace.

King Edward VII set up the Court Post Offices in Buckingham Palace and introduced the first franking stamp in 1901 which included the Royal cypher.

The Royal cypher was first used by Henry VIII in England to identify buildings that he had commissioned.

The cypher was created at a time when the Monarch was seen by very few people.