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Monogram-like device of a country's reigning sovereign
Royal cypher of King Harald V of NorwayIn 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.
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.
Commonwealth realms[edit]The use of a royal cypher in the Commonwealth realms originated in the United Kingdom, where the public use of the royal initials dates at least from the early Tudor period, and was simply the initial of the sovereign with, after Henry VIII's reign, the addition of the letter 'R' for 'Rex' or 'Regina' (Latin for "king" and "queen" respectively). The letter 'I' for 'Imperatrix' was added to Queen Victoria's monogram after she became Empress of India in 1877 (or 'Imperator' in the case of an emperor).[2][3]
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 St James's Palace. The purpose seems to have been simply to identify an individual sovereign, particularly on certain landmarks that he or she has commissioned, as the royal coat of arms in contrast was often used by successive monarchs and is therefore not distinct. The initials are furthermore used on government papers, 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.
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.[5]
The royal cypher is used on some Australian military uniforms.[6]
Charles's cypher on David Lammy's folder, 2025On 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.[7][8] Charles's Scottish cypher uses the Crown of Scotland instead.[7][9]
King Charles III's royal cypher surmounted with a Tudor Crown
King Charles III's royal cypher surmounted by the
Crown of ScotlandKing Charles III's royal cypher surmounted by the
Canadian Royal Crown[10]Dual cypher of King Charles III and
Queen CamillaRoyal cypher of Queen Camilla, consort of King Charles III
The cypher for Elizabeth II was EIIR, standing for Elizabeth II Regina[11] and 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.[12] 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.[13]
Queen Elizabeth II's royal cypher, surmounted by
St Edward's crownQueen Elizabeth II's royal cypher, surmounted by the
Crown of ScotlandA dual cypher for Elizabeth II and
Prince Philipfrom a 1972 coin marking their 25th wedding anniversary
Royal cypher of Prince Philip, consort of Queen Elizabeth II
British royal cyphers are still visible on several public buildings and old post boxes in the Republic of Ireland.[14][15]
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 Europe's six other surviving kingdoms use cyphers, with royal crowns above them.[citation needed] King Harald V of Norway uses the letter H crossed with the Arabic numeral 5; King Carl XVI Gustav of Sweden uses the letters C and G overlapping with the Roman numeral XVI below them; King Felipe VI of Spain uses the letter F with the Roman numeral; and Frederik X of Denmark uses two letter Fs with the Roman numeral X intertwined. King Philippe of the Belgians uses the letters P and F intertwined, referring to the fact that his name is Philippe in French and Philipp in German, but Filip in Dutch, the three main languages in Belgium. King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and his Queen Maxima share a joint cypher consisting of the letter W entwined with the letter M.
The insignia of "N III" for Napoléon III is seen on some Paris bridges, such as the Pont au Change.
King Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand uses a cypher made up of his initials in Thai script ("ว.ป.ร." V.P.R. – Vajiralongkorn Parama Rajadhiraj, an equivalent of Vajiralongkorn Rex).[citation needed]
The royal cypher of Charles III
The royal cypher of Queen Elizabeth II, using
St Edward's CrownVariant Queen Elizabeth II cypher in
Jersey, with
Arabicinstead of
Romannumerals typically employed
The cypher of Queen Elizabeth II on a
policecap or helmet badge
The most common variant of
King George VI's cypher
Royal cypher of
Queen Elizabeth, consort of King George VI and later The Queen Mother
The royal cypher of King
Edward VIII, using the
Tudor CrownThe former
Postal Station Kin
Toronto(pictured in 2006) displays above its main entrance
EVIIIR, the royal cypher of
King Edward VIIIRoyal cypher of King
George V, using the Tudor Crown
A
Hong Kongmailbox with a cypher of King George V
Royal cypher of
Queen Mary, consort of King George V
The royal cypher of King
Edward VII, using the
Tudor CrownThe royal and imperial cypher of King
Edward VII, ERI
Edwardus Rex Imperator, used on an Indian railway wagon
A
Royal Mail post boxin
Windsorin
Berkshirebearing the royal cypher of
King Edward VII, an intertwined
EVIIRRoyal cypher of
Queen Alexandra, consort of King Edward VII
The royal and imperial Cypher of
Queen Victoriaforms a part of the emblem of the
Royal Victorian Ordersurrounded by a
Brunswick starA railing with the royal cypher of King
William IVCypher of
George IIIon a cannon at
Elizabeth Castle, Jersey
The
double-headed eagle, the most recognized emblem of the
Byzantine Empire, with the
sympilema(dynastic cypher) of the
Palaeologiin the centre
Royal monogram of King
Stephen I of HungaryArms of the
Kingdom of Prussiaincluding the cypher of King
Friedrich I of Prussiaat the centre
The cypher of Dubai Sovereign H.H. Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum
Base of a
Spanishstyle
lamp postwith the cypher of
King Ferdinand VIIRoyal cypher (monogram) of
Catherine IIof Russia
The royal cypher of
King Carol II of Romania(two opposed Cs) decorates the porch roofs at the entrances in the
Royal Palace of Bucharest.
Royal cypher of King
Felipe VI of SpainCoat of arms of
House of Yiof
KoreaRoyal cypher of King
Harald V of NorwayRoyal cypher of King
Umberto II of ItalyImperial cypher of Emperor
Pedro II of Brazilon his throne. The "J" represents the capital i, for
Imperador, the
Portugueseword for emperor
Cypher of Rama IV of Siam
Cypher of Rama V of Siam
Cypher of Rama VI of Siam
Cypher of Rama VII of Siam
Cypher of Rama VIII of Siam
Cypher of Rama IX (
Bhumibol Adulyadej) of Thailand
The personal flag with the cypher of Rama IX
Cypher of Rama X (
Maha Vajiralongkorn) of Thailand
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