The first letter box bearing the cipher of King Charles III entered service on 12 July 2024. That pillar box, on the High Street, Great Cambourne, Cambridgeshire, carries a special plaque on the back, recording its historic role.

It has taken some time for further examples to arrive on the streets, but Charles III postboxes are finally starting to appear. As well as pillar boxes, smaller lamp letter boxes are now being installed, either as replacements for older boxes that are beyond repair, or at completely new locations where there has been no letter box in the past. Whereas the pillar boxes have a red plate on the door which incorporates the new King’s crown and cipher, on lamp boxes these appear side by side on a stainless steel plate located below the posting slot or aperture.

Lamp boxes were first introduced in 1896 and were so named as they were designed to be attached to lamp posts. Nowadays they are more commonly found sitting on top of a short metal pole and are the standard letter box that is installed at locations that are not busy enough to need a pillar box.

Charles III-ciphered letter boxes will be installed throughout England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. However, boxes in Scotland will continue to bear just a representation of the Scottish Crown and not the Charles III cipher.

© Andrew W Young