Royal cypher

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
King Edward VIII
St. Edward's Crown was used in the Royal Mail logo during Elizabeth's long reign (1952-2022).
Royal Mail van in Scotland, displaying the Royal Mail logo as used in Scotland during the latter years of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. Unlike the logo as used in the rest of the United Kingdom during Elizabeth's reign, the Royal Mail logo in Scotland during her reign was surmounted by a stylised version of the Crown of Scotland and did not feature the EIIR royal cypher. This was largely the result of the 'Pillar Box War
' of the early 1950s. A stylised version of the Crown of Scotland can be seen on the passenger door of the van as well.

In modern heraldry, a royal cypher is a monogram or monogram-like device of a country's reigning sovereign, typically consisting of the initials of the monarch's name and title, sometimes interwoven and often surmounted by a crown.[1] Such a cypher as used by an emperor or empress is called an imperial cypher. In the system used by various Commonwealth realms, the title is abbreviated as 'R' for 'rex' or 'regina' (Latin for "king" and "queen"). Previously, 'I' stood for 'imperator' or 'imperatrix' (Latin for "emperor" and "empress") of the Indian Empire.[2][3]

Royal cyphers appear on some government buildings, impressed upon royal and state documents, and are used by governmental departments. They may also appear on other governmental structures built under a particular ruler. For example, the insignia of "N III" for Napoléon III is seen on some Paris bridges, such as the Pont au Change.

Commonwealth realms

The use of a royal cypher in the

Empress of India
in 1877.

The initials – which had no set pattern or form of lettering laid down – were usually shown in company with the royal arms or crown as on the king's manors and palaces – such as those of Henry VIII on the gatehouse of

duty stamps and similar objects, and are surmounted throughout the United Kingdom (except in Scotland) and the Commonwealth realms by a stylised version of the Tudor Crown or St Edward's Crown; in Scotland, the Crown of Scotland is used instead.[4]

Though royal symbols (including, most notably, the coat of arms,

royal standards and great seals
) differ among the 15 Commonwealth realms, as they are separate monarchies, the one sovereign uses the same cypher throughout all of his or her countries. Distinction continues to be made between the personal cypher and the simpler, more workaday public initials, the former being the sovereign's own monogram and the latter simply a means of identifying a reign. Nowadays, the initials are also called the royal cypher, but, to aid clarification, the monogram is referred to as the royal cypher interlaced and reversed.

Charles III

On 26 September 2022, Buckingham Palace unveiled the cypher of the new king, Charles III, that is gradually replacing the cypher of Elizabeth II in everyday use. The design was selected by Charles himself from a series of designs prepared by the College of Arms and features the King's initial "C" intertwined with the letter "R" for Rex with "III" denoting Charles III, with a Tudor Crown above the letters.[5][6] Charles's Scottish cypher uses the Crown of Scotland instead.[5][7]

  • King Charles III's royal cypher surmounted with a Tudor Crown
    King Charles III's royal cypher surmounted with a Tudor Crown
  • King Charles III's royal cypher surmounted by the Crown of Scotland
    King Charles III's royal cypher surmounted by the Crown of Scotland
  • Dual cypher of King Charles III and Queen Camilla
    Dual cypher of King Charles III and Queen Camilla
  • Royal cypher of Queen Camilla, consort of King Charles III
    Royal cypher of Queen Camilla, consort of King Charles III

Elizabeth II

The late queen's cypher was EIIR, standing for Elizabeth II Regina.[8] Elizabeth's cypher was usually surmounted by a stylised version of St. Edward's Crown. In Scotland, as a result of the 'Pillar Box War', which was a dispute over the correct title of the new monarch (Elizabeth I of England and Ireland was not a monarch of Scotland, so the new queen would have been Elizabeth I, not II, in Scotland according to that view), after 1953 new post boxes carried only the Crown of Scotland image rather than the EIIR cypher, which continued to be used in the rest of the United Kingdom and in the other realms and territories.

The production of the cypher was an early step in the preparations for her coronation in 1953 as it had to be embroidered on to the uniforms of the Royal Household and on other articles.[9] Cyphers for other members of the royal family are designed by the College of Arms or Court of the Lord Lyon and are subsequently approved by the monarch.[10]

  • Queen Elizabeth II's royal cypher, surmounted by St Edward's crown
    Queen Elizabeth II's royal cypher, surmounted by
    St Edward's crown
  • Queen Elizabeth II's royal cypher, surmounted by the Crown of Scotland
    Queen Elizabeth II's royal cypher, surmounted by the Crown of Scotland
  • One example of a dual cypher for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, which appeared on a 1972 coin commemorating their 25th wedding anniversary
    One example of a dual cypher for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, which appeared on a 1972 coin commemorating their 25th wedding anniversary
  • Royal monogram of Prince Philip, consort of Queen Elizabeth II
    Royal monogram of Prince Philip, consort of Queen Elizabeth II

Other monarchs

See the Gallery section for example of the cyphers of other monarchs.

Canada

The royal cyphers have been incorporated by the Canadian Heraldic Authority into the various royal standards of Canada. The use in Canada of the reigning monarch's cypher, which is sometimes uniquely surrounded by a garland of maple leaves, is as a symbol not only of the sovereign him- or herself, but of Canada's full sovereignty.[11]

Australia

The royal cypher is also found on post offices and some government buildings in Australia.[citation needed]

Elsewhere

British royal cyphers are still visible on several public buildings and old

post boxes in the Republic of Ireland.[12][13]

Other royal houses have also made use of royal or imperial cyphers;

Ottoman sultans had a calligraphic signature known as their tughra
.

All the monarchs of

Queen Maxima
share a joint cypher consisting of the letter W entwined with the letter M.

King

Thai script ("ว.ป.ร." V.P.R. – Vajiralongkorn Parama Rajadhiraj, an equivalent of Vajiralongkorn Rex).[citation needed
]

Gallery

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Royal monograms.

References

  1. ^ The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (Fifth edition; 2002), Volume 1, p. 1820.
  2. ^ Morley, Vincent. "United Kingdom: Royal Navy". Flags Of The World. Retrieved 30 October 2009.
  3. ^ Boutell, Charles; Wheeler-Holohan, V. (1931). Boutell's Manual of Heraldry. Detroit: F. Warne and Co. Ltd. p. 244. Retrieved 30 October 2009.
  4. ISBN 978-1-4068-2770-5
    .
  5. ^ a b The Royal Household (2022-09-27). "His Majesty The King's cypher". The Royal Family. Retrieved 2022-09-27.
  6. ^ "New King Charles royal cypher revealed". BBC. 26 September 2022.
  7. ^ Grierson, Jamie (26 September 2022). "King Charles III's official monogram design released by palace". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  8. ^ "Royal Cypher of Queen Elizabeth ll". The Morning Bulletin. 1952-07-18. p. 1. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  9. ^ "Vintage Reader's Digest 1953: Preparing to Crown a Queen - Reader's Digest". www.readersdigest.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  10. ^ Palmer, Richard (2009-01-07). "Prince Harry pays tribute to Diana with royal cypher". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 2021-04-27.
  11. ISBN 978-0-662-46012-1
    .
  12. ISBN 9781514471333
    – via Google Books.
  13. ^ "Royal Ciphers on Postboxes: a Brief Guide". April 1, 2018.
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