[imagesource: Alastair Grant / PA Pool / Getty Images]

And so the reign of King Charles III begins.

King Charles’ new royal cypher has just been unveiled and will gradually take over the late Queen Elizabeth II’s monogram as it appears on government buildings, state documents, and some post boxes.

The new King chose his favourite option from a range of designs put forth by the College of Arms, which has been maintaining official registers of coats of arms and pedigrees since 1484, per Sky News.

The cypher depicts His Majesty’s initial – C – intertwined with the letter R for Rex, which is Latin for King, along with III pasted within the letter R, all in gold, to signify Charles the third.

The crown sits above the letters:

Image: Buckingham Palace

There’s also a Scottish version featuring the Scottish Crown:

Image: Buckingham Palace

The visual identity for the new reign is a replacement of the E II R of the late Queen Elizabeth II.

This monarch’s new personal monogram will have its first application in the Buckingham Palace post room today when it will be used to frank letters from the Royal Households:

It will also be used by the royal household for franking mail, but the decision to change the use of cyphers from the Queen to the King will remain at the discretion of individual organisations.

The process will be a gradual one and in some instances the cyphers of previous monarchs can still be seen on public buildings and street furniture, especially post boxes.

There are still post boxes in use from the reign of Queen Victoria, Edward VII, George V, and George VI, and the original cyphers remain until boxes need to be replaced.

A new Carolean age has been ushered in since the Queen’s death, with stamps, coins, and notes among the other everyday items which will need to be changed to mark the new reign of King Charles, per the BBC.

New bank notes featuring a portrait of King Charles III are expected to enter circulation by mid-2024.

The image for that should be revealed before the end of this year.

[sources:bbc&skynews]