Royal Mail unveils first King Charles postbox

While more than half currently carry the late Queen’s EIIR crest, some 15 per cent still display the mark of George V, who reigned from 1910 to 1936, while others are said to date back to Edward VII and even Queen Victoria’s reign.

The King’s cypher features his initials, CIII, for Charles III, and title, Rex, which is Latin for King, alongside a representation of the Tudor Crown.

Although a number of new or replacement post boxes have been installed since he ascended the throne, until now, existing stocks carrying the late Queen’s cypher had been used.

Emma Gilthorpe, the chief executive of Royal Mail 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.”