Hitchin postboxes with initials ER or GR will remain - how red mailboxes with Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's name on will continue
By Layth Yousif
14th Sep 2022 | Local News
Following the death of Her Majesty, The Queen, the face, initials or stamp of our new monarch will soon feature prominently on many things we take for granted.
Passports, currency and stamps will see King Charles III eventually replace Elizabeth II, as the much-admired former Queen's sad death means that cash notes and coins with her image will be changed soon.
Local resident Danny Pearson spoke to Nub News. The tireless Hitchin advocate said: "Post boxes, money, passports, emergency service uniforms! These are just some of the changes that lay ahead of us.
"I do wonder when we will start to see new postboxes.
"It may be years before we see them replaced, especially as we are in a cost of living crisis - or will Royal Mail, and Crown Estate, decide to leave them up as a tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II.
"I guess we will all find out over the next few months and years. These are uncharted waters for many of us as we move from the reign of Queen Elizabeth II to the new reign of King Charles III."
What happens to post boxes with the Queen's name on?
Well, it's all down to the letters found on the front of the post box.
The letters are called the 'Royal Cypher' and they give any eagle-eyed onlookers a subtle clue as to when the post box was erected.
The letters indicate which King or Queen was the monarch at the time when the postbox was installed - which could have been more than 100 years ago or longer.
ER Postboxes
The Queen took to the throne in 1952, meaning any new post boxes will have been installed with these initials - so, if you find a postbox that has the letters 'ER' on then you can usually tell it is from within the previous seven decades.
ER stands for Elizabeth, Regina which was the late monarch's name as well as the word 'Queen' in Latin.
PICTURE: A red Hitchin postbox situated on the corner of Strathmore Avenue and Old Hale Way still pays tribute to 'GR'. CREDIT: @HitchinNubNews
Hitchin's mysterious case of GR not ER
However, in Hitchin, there is still at least one post box displaying her 'GR' instead of 'ER' - but who was 'GR'?
Who was GR?
The G stands for George, and the R stands for Rex, which is King in Latin.
So, Hitchin's 'GR' post box on the corner of Strathmore Avenue and Old Hale Way was put up during the era of King George - either our late monarch's father George VI, or prior to his brother's abdication, Edward III.
What happens to Post Boxes in Hitchin following the Queen's death?
Unlike notes, coins or stamps, it doesn't matter that King Charles is now the monarch - as Danny Pearson so rightly says, because according to the Royal Mail, existing post boxes won't actually be replaced.
That's because they've stood the test of time, despite monarchs coming and going throughout the years - with at least one post box in our town still going strong from early in the 20th century - and in some places date even further back.
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