The United Kingdom has updated its online symbol of state.
A new crown icon for King Charles III just started appearing on gov.uk, replacing a previous crown icon used under the late Queen Elizabeth II. The new logo isn’t a dramatic departure from the old, though. Both use the same illustration for the crown’s base and cross, and both use dots to depict the rest of the crown’s silhouette. Where Elizabeth’s crown arched inward on the sides like a heart to depict the St. Edward’s Crown, Charles’s crown logo has a rounded dome for the Tudor Crown.
“The digital realm is now an integral part of our lives, and as his Majesty’s Government we take pride in this change to GOV.UK today, honouring the chosen crown of our King,” Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said in a statement announcing the new symbol.
The old logo (top) and new design [Image: Gov.UK]
The new logo is just one piece of a multiyear rebrand across government to reflect the U.K.’s new head of state, an exercise without a direct U.S. equivalent (imagine the U.S. government redesigning its currency and stamps every four to eight years to reflect a new president).
Charles chose the Tudor Crown in 2022 for his royal cypher, a monogram that appears on things like government buildings and state documents, and since ascending to the throne, other changes have been made to reflect his reign. The Royal Mint began distributing new coins with King Charles’s likeness to post offices in late 2022, and stamps with his likeness began appearing last year.
The new website logo comes about nine months after King Charles’s coronation, but the monthslong lag in the website update isn’t necessarily surprising considering the pace of other updates. Post boxes, for example, aren’t replaced with the new royal cypher until they need to be repaired, and some depicting Queen Victoria’s royal cypher are still in operation, according to the BBC.
