In modernheraldry, aroyal cypher is amonogram or monogram-like device of a country's reigningsovereign, typically consisting of the initials of the monarch's name and title, sometimes interwoven and often surmounted by acrown.[1] Such a cypher as used by an emperor or empress is called animperial cypher.
Royal cyphers appear on some government buildings, impressed upon royal and state documents, and are used bygovernmental departments. They may also appear on other governmental structures built under a particular ruler.
The use of a royal cypher in theCommonwealth realms originated in theUnited Kingdom, where the public use of the royal initials dates at least from the earlyTudor period, and was simply the initial of the sovereign with, afterHenry 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 toQueen Victoria's monogram after she becameEmpress 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 ofSt 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 theroyal 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 theTudor Crown orSt Edward's Crown; inScotland, theCrown of Scotland is used instead.[4]
Though royal symbols (including, most notably, the coat of arms,royal standards andgreat 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 theCanadian Heraldic Authority into the variousroyal standards of Canada. The use in Canada of the reigning monarch's cypher, which is sometimes uniquely surrounded by a garland ofmaple 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]
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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" forRex with "III" denoting Charles III, with aTudor Crown above the letters.[7][8] Charles's Scottish cypher uses theCrown of Scotland instead.[7][9]
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![King Charles III's royal cypher surmounted by the Canadian Royal Crown[10]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aRoyal_Cypher_of_King_Charles_III_(Canada).svg)
The cypher forElizabeth II wasEIIR, standing forElizabeth IIRegina[11] and was usually surmounted by a stylised version of St. Edward's Crown. Since 1953, new post boxes in Scotland carry only the Crown of Scotland image rather than theEIIR cypher as a result of thePillar Box War, in which some post boxes carrying theEIIR cypher were vandalised due to objections that there had never been an "Elizabeth I" of Scotland. TheEIIR cypher continued to be used on post boxes in the rest of United Kingdom and some other realms and territories. Charles III cypher will also not be included on Scottish post boxes, despite the fact thatCharles II also reigned over Scotland.[12]
The production of the cypher was an early step in the preparations for hercoronation in 1953 as it had to be embroidered on to the uniforms of theRoyal Household and on other articles.[13] Cyphers for other members of theroyal family are designed by theCollege of Arms orCourt of the Lord Lyon and are subsequently approved by the monarch.[14]
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British royal cyphers are still visible on several public buildings and oldpost boxes in theRepublic of Ireland.[15][16]
Other royal houses have also made use of royal or imperial cyphers;Ottoman sultans had a calligraphic signature known as theirtughra.
All the monarchs ofEurope'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; andFrederik 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 inFrench and Philipp inGerman, but Filip inDutch, the three main languages inBelgium.King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and hisQueen Maxima share a joint cypher consisting of the letter W entwined with the letter M.
Theinsignia of "N III" forNapoléon III is seen on some Paris bridges, such as thePont au Change.
KingMaha Vajiralongkorn ofThailand uses a cypher made up of his initials inThai script ("ว.ป.ร." V.P.R. – Vajiralongkorn Parama Rajadhiraj, an equivalent ofVajiralongkornRex).[citation needed]
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