Latest Guernsey stamps feature King Charles cypher
GUERNSEY’S first King Charles III stamps have been revealed.
The new king’s silhouette has not yet been published, so the new Guernsey Alderney stamps will feature the King’s cypher.
That includes his monogram and comprises the initials of the monarch’s name and title Rex, Latin for King, alongside a representation of the Crown.
The cypher appears on Guernsey Post’s Christmas stamps for Guernsey and Alderney, which are subject to Royal Approval and will be released early in November 2022.
Guernsey Post’s head of philatelic Bridget Yabsley said they were delighted with the festive pantomime-themed stamps, which feature Sleeping Beauty and Robin Hood.
She confirmed that the Post Office hoped to receive the approved King’s silhouette before the end of the year. It would then be incorporated into local stamps.
There will also be other changes at Guernsey Post under the new King. There are likely to be King Charles III post boxes in future, but it may take quite some time before islanders see them installed.
The King’s cypher will be used by government departments and on state documents, as well as on the front of post boxes.
A Guernsey Post spokeswoman said it was likely it would be adopting the new design on post boxes.
‘But it will not be any time soon, as these things take a lot of planning,’ she said.
Guernsey has more than 140 post boxes, which are made of cast iron and maintained to ensure they last.
A third of the island’s boxes date from the 1920s and 1930s, during the reigns of George V, Edward VIII and George VI, while five date from 1901 to 1910, during the reign of Edward VII.
About 20 were installed during the Victorian era.
The oldest working postbox in the British Isles is in Union Street, dating from 1853.
The spokeswoman said Guernsey Post did not replace post boxes unless they were in a very bad state, so it was likely that the first King Charles box would be a brand new one set in a new location.
But that requires a need to be identified, planning permission to be granted and then the box made, so it could take quite a while for one to appear.
