King Charles chose the rounded Tudor Crown for his royal cypher, and it has now been rolled out on key government websites, marking his role as the head of state.
The website rebrand is expected to be completed by March 1 and apps will also take on the change.
When the King was crowned in 2022, he chose the rounded crown when he took the throne, and it is being changed in places where the late Queen Elizabeth’s St Edward’s Crown was shown. This will include post boxes, police uniforms and official buildings.
If you are trying to spot the difference between the two crowns, the King’s crown has a rounded dome while Queen Elizabeth II’s has arches either side of the central cross.
The King’s grandfather, George VI, also used the Tudor Crown for his cypher when he reigned between 1936 and 1952.
King Charles did wear the St Edward’s Crown for his coronation in May last year, just as his mother did in 1953.
But Charles’ cypher, portrait or name will eventually find its way into a variety of places including coins, banknotes, stamps, passports, and postboxes.
The cypher features the King’s initial C intertwined with the letter R for Rex – Latin for King – with III within the R denoting Charles III, with the crown above the letters.
Oliver Dowden, the Deputy Prime Minister welcomed the change: “Following the accession of His Majesty The King, we areupdating the symbols of state to reflect the new design of the Tudor Crown.”
He added: “The digital realm is now an integral part of our lives, and as His Majesty’s Government, we take pride in this change to gov.uk today, honouring the chosen crown of our King.”
The government website went on to warn users about fraudulent activity during the transition between the old and rebranded website.
They encouraged the public to report any fraudulent-looking gov.uk websites via the dedicated reporting page.
However, the Cabinet Office reassured the public that the new site remains safe to use and has only changed to reflect the new symbols of state.
The government website also states the transition is covered within the usual operating costs of the gov.uk website.
