Here’s what new post boxes with the King’s cypher look like

The first postboxes with King Charles III’s initials have been unveiled in Upper Cambourne, Cambridgeshire.

Vine Inter-Church Primary School helped open the new postbox and sent letters to the King himself, after Charles allowed the Royal Mail to use his monogram.

The new versions of the famous red mail boxes will now feature the initial C with the Roman numeral III and R for ‘Rex’, meaning King in Latin, all under a Tudor crown.

Emma Gilthorpe, Royal Mail’s chief executive, said: ‘More than 115,000 postboxes across the UK have recorded the succession of monarchs since the first box bore the cypher of Queen Victoria.

‘We thank His Majesty for granting us the use of his personal cypher as we begin the next chapter in the story of the iconic Great British postbox in Great Cambourne.’

Royal Mail boxes have been stamped with royal cyphers since the time of Queen Victoria.

But any older boxes bearing the cypher of previous monarchs aren’t changed after the old one dies – to make sure nothing is wasted.

King Charles’ cypher will also be plastered on the doors of the Royal Mail vehicles – 100 trucks are being rolled out today, with a total of more than 3,500 expected to be updated with the King’s initials.

Across the UK, any new post boxes will now have Charles’ cypher – except in Scotland, which has kept the St Andrews crown rather than any royal cypher since 1955.

Last year, Royal Mail celebrated the coronation by creating special postboxes across the UK in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and County Down in Northern Ireland.

They displayed the official coronation emblem and are decorated in the colours of the union flag – red, white and blue.

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