mEMYries: A Lesson in Royal Monograms

I have to wait to post the rest of the days in London because Allison took more of the pictures so in the mean time we will have a lesson in Royal Monograms because I find it fascinating! In order to keep this simple I’ve included extra tidbits and factoids at the bottom. Just follow the postscript if you’re interested.

Royal monograms have been in existence since the Tudor era and haven’t changed much since. Henry VII and VIII only had their initials and after the R was added.¹ The current monarch’s monogram is EIIR which stands for the following:

E: Elizabeth

II: the second, meaning she’s the second Elizabeth

R: In this case for Regina (rhymes with a female body part, sorry it’s the only thing I can think of that rhymes!), Latin for queen and alternatively Rex for men meaning king

The crown above the monograms prior to the current one is a version of the Tudor crown, Queen Elizabeth's crown is the St Edward's crown, the crown she wore for her coronation.

If someone is a I (first) they don’t have a number i.e. Queen Victoria’s monogram is simply VR. We don’t know what name Charles will choose for himself but presumably he will in fact choose Charles and his monogram will be CIIIR. If you didn’t know they don’t actually have to choose their first name now you do! ² The importance of the royal monogram is mainly that it is on EVERYTHING and I mean EVERYTHING. When the current monarch dies (or abdicates³) everything must be changed to the new monogram. That’s a lot of post office boxes! They don’t all change however. The oldest monogram I’ve see in England is William IV, predecessor to Victoria and her Uncle. That’s seven monarchs ago! ⁴During the reign of Victoria, when she became the Empress of India, she got a second monogram with I (VI) standing for imperatrix which means empress in Latin, or imperator for men. I have only seen ones of these and it was in Scotland for James IV of Scotland (not England) but I'm having a hard time finding out what it all stands for since it's not the traditional initials so I'll get back to you. One thing I’m not sure of is the rules on what changes since you can find older monograms around England and Scotland. Most post office boxes have Elizabeth on them but I have seen them with others.

Lastly, royals who are not monarchs also have royal monograms, also known as royal cyphers, but they are just their first initial with a crown above it. Both Camilla and Catherine (Kate) are a C (different Cs though) with a crown. Interestingly enough they are the Duchess of Cornwall and the Duchess of Cambridge but the C still stands for their first name.

¹Henry VII was the first Tudor monarch (Henry VIII’s dad) and was also the last monarch to win his reign on the battlefield against Richard III (the last Plantagenet king) at the Battle of Bosworth.

²In fact, the previous two monarchs didn’t use their first names! George VI’s (the queen’s dad) first name was Albert but following the debacle with his brother’s abdication he wanted to show solidarity with his father who was well liked and respected so he chose the same name. Previous to him was Edward VIII (brother with abdication debacle) and his first name was David. If you watched the royal wedding you may remember William listing all of his names in the vows, he may choose anyone of those names when he becomes king. One reason for doing that is he would be William V if he stayed with that name and William IV was not the greatest of kings (we’ll talk more about him in a minute) and he may not want to be associated with him. We’ll just have to wait and see!

³Don’t hold your breath people the Queen will not abdicate, she’s very religious and believes in the divine right of monarchs and therefor the proper line of succession. She was also a teenager when her uncle abdicated making her hair presumptive and I’m sure she doesn’t want to put the country through that again. Side note, she was heir presumptive because at that time there was a chance that her parents could have a son (not really a chance because they were much older by that time but still a chance) and therefor she would no longer be next in line for the thrown. Charles is heir apparent because he will be the next king as first-born son to the current monarch. William and Kate’s child will be heir apparent regardless of sex because the Queen has changed the letters patent stating that males come first. Also, as much as people would like Charles to abdicate to William because people don’t especially like Charles (or Camilla for that matter) and who doesn’t love Wills (and more importantly Kate!) that is also not going to happen. People don’t abdicate just for shits and giggles and they especially don’t abdicate based on popularity. Also, assuming the Queen raised Charles to have similar religious beliefs he would definitely not be on board. Lastly, Charles is the longest reigning heir apparent in history so homeboy has been waiting a long time.

⁴ William IV succeeded his brother and since he didn’t have children and when Victoria’s father died she was next in line. A lot happened during his reign, slavery was abolished, child labor was regulated, and he was the last monarch to appoint a Prime Minister contrary to parliament however he didn't do a great job at pleasing both the reformers and the conservatives so no one was happy.