Charles I opened his posts to public use, as a means of raising money. Although public use of the royal posts increased, the running of the mail continued to centre round the post requirements of the Sovereign's Court. Until the 1780's the Mails did not leave London until the Court letters had been received at the General Post Office, and as late as 1807 Court letters coming into London were, unlike ordinary letters, delivered the moment the mail arrived. The postal system rapidly spread during Victoria's reign with the introduction of the Uniform Penny Postage in 1840, and the Queen's letters bore postage stamps like everyone else's. Royal Messengers continued to carry certain letters by hand. The increase in the Court's mail led to special postal facilities being provided in 1897 in the form of a Court Post Office - an arrangement which still exists today under the management of the Court Postmaster.
Symbols of the royal origins of the UK's postal system remain: a miniature silhouette of the Monarch's head is depicted on all stamps; the personal cyphers of The Queen and her predecessors (going back to Victoria) appear on many letterboxes dating from their respective reigns throughout the country; and the postal delivery service is known as the Royal Mail.
COATS OF ARMS
The function of the Royal Coat of Arms is to identify the person who is Head of State. In respect of the United Kingdom, the royal arms are borne only by the Sovereign. They are used in many ways in connection with the administration and government of the country, for instance on coins, in churches and on public buildings. They are familiar to most people as they appear on the products and goods of Royal Warrant holders.
The Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom have evolved over many years and reflect the history of the Monarchy and of the country. In the design the shield shows the various royal emblems of different parts of the United Kingdom: the three lions of England in the first and fourth quarters, the lion of Scotland in the second and the harp of Ireland in the third. It is surrounded by a garter bearing the motto Honi soit qui mal y pense ('Evil to him who evil thinks'), which symbolises the Order of the Garter, an ancient order of knighthood of which the Queen is Sovereign. The shield is supported by the English lion and Scottish unicorn and is surmounted by the Royal crown. Below it appears the motto of the Sovereign, Dieu et mon droit ('God and my right'). The plant badges of the United Kingdom - rose, thistle and shamrock - are often displayed beneath the shield.
Separate Scottish and English quarterings of the Royal Arms originate from the Union of the Crown in 1603. The Scottish version of the Royal Coat of Arms shows the lion of Scotland in the first and fourth quarters, with that of England being in the second. The harp of Ireland is in the third quarter. The mottoes read In defence and No one will attack me with impunity. From the times of the Stuart kings, the Scottish quarterings have been used for official purposes in Scotland (for example, on official buildings and official publications).
The special position of Wales as a Principality was recognised by the creation of the Prince of Wales long before the incorporation of the quarterings for Scotland and Ireland in the Royal Arms. The arms of the Prince of Wales show the arms of the ancient Principality in the centre as well as these quarterings.
Coats of Arms of members of the Royal Family are broadly similar to The Queen's with small differences to identify them.
GREAT SEAL
The Great Seal of the Realm is the chief seal of the Crown, used to show the monarch's approval of important state documents. In today's constitutional monarchy, the Sovereign acts on the advice of the Government of the day, but the seal remains an important symbol of the Sovereign's role as Head of State.
The practice of using this seal began in the reign of Edward the Confessor in the 11th century, when a double-sided metal matrix with an image of the Sovereign was used to make an impression in wax for attachment by ribbon or cord to royal documents. The seal meant that the monarch did not need to sign every official document in person; authorisation could be carried out instead by an appointed officer. In centuries when few people could read or write, the seal provided a pictorial expression of royal approval which all could understand. The uniqueness of the official seal - only one matrix was in existence at any one time - also meant it was difficult to forge or tamper with official documents.
The Great Seal matrix has changed many times throughout the centuries. A new matrix is engraved at the beginning of each reign on the order of the Sovereign; it is traditional that on the death of the Sovereign the old seal is used until the new Sovereign orders otherwise. For many monarchs, a single seal has sufficed. In the case of some long-reigning monarchs, such as Queen Victoria, the original seal simply wore out and a series of replacements was required.
The Queen has had two Great Seals during her reign. The first was designed by Gilbert Ledward and came into service in 1953. Through long usage and the heat involved in the sealing process, the matrix lost definition. From summer 2001 a new Great Seal, designed by sculptor James Butler and produced by the Royal Mint, has been in use. At a meeting of the Privy Council on 18 July 2001 The Queen handed the new seal matrix over to the Lord High Chancellor, currently Lord Irvine of Lairg, who is the traditional keeper of the Great Seal.
The Great Seal matrix will be used to create seals for a range of documents requiring royal approval, including letters patent, royal proclamations, commissions, some writs (such as writs for the election of Members of Parliament), and the documents which give power to sign and ratify treaties. During the year 2000-01, more than 100 documents passed under the Great Seal. Separate seals exist for Scotland - the Great Seal of Scotland - and for Northern Ireland.
The process of sealing takes place nowadays at the House of Lords in the office of the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery. A system of 'colour coding' is used for the seal impression, depending on the type of document to which it is being affixed. Dark green seals are affixed to letters patent which elevate individuals to the peerage; blue seals are used for documents relating to the close members of the Royal Family; and scarlet red is used for documents appointing a bishop and for most other patents.
FLAGS
A number of different types of flag are associated with The Queen and the Royal Family. The Union Flag (or Union Jack) originated as a Royal flag, although it is now also flown by many people and organisations elsewhere in the United Kingdom by long established custom. The Royal Standard is the flag flown when The Queen is in residence in one of the Royal Palaces, on The Queen's car on official journeys and on aircraft (when on the ground), and represents the Sovereign and the United Kingdom. The Queen's personal flag, adopted in 1960, is personal to her alone and can be flown by no one other than The Queen. Members of the Royal Family have their own personal variants on the Royal Standard. The Prince of Wales has additional Standards which he uses in Wales and Scotland.
CROWNS AND JEWELS
The crowns and treasures associated with the British Monarchy are powerful symbols of monarchy for the British people and, as such, their value represents more than gold and precious stones. Today the crowns and treasures associated with English kings and queens since 1660 and earlier are used for the Coronation of Monarchs of the United Kingdom. The crowns and regalia used by Scottish monarchs (the Honours of Scotland) and Princes of Wales (the Honours of the Principality of Wales) continue to have symbolic meaning in Scotland and Wales. All three collections of treasures can be viewed today in their different locations - the Tower of London, Edinburgh Castle and the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff.
TRANSPORT
The Queen's State and private motor cars are housed in the Royal Mews. For official duties - providing transport for State and other visitors as well as The Queen herself - there are nine State limousines, consisting of one Bentley, five Rolls-Royces and three Daimlers. They are painted in Royal maroon livery and the Bentley and Rolls-Royces uniquely do not have registration number plates. Other vehicles include a number of Vauxhall Sintra 'people carriers'.
The most recent State car, which is used for most of The Queen's engagements, is a State Bentley presented to The Queen to mark her Golden Jubilee in 2002. The one-off model, conceived by a Bentley-led consortium of British motor industry manufacturers and suppliers, is the first Bentley to be used for State occasions. It was designed with input from The Queen, The Duke of Edinburgh and Her Majesty's Head Chauffeur.
In technical terms, the car has a monocoque construction, enabling greater use to be made of the vehicle's interior space. This means the transmission tunnel now runs underneath the floor, without encroaching on the cabin and has enabled the stylists to work with a lowered roofline whilst preserving the required interior height. The rear doors have been redesigned enabling The Queen to stand up straight before stepping down to the ground. The rear seats are upholstered in Hield Lambswool Sateen cloth whilst all remaining upholstery is in light grey Connolly hide. Carpets are pale blue in the rear and dark blue in the front.
A Rolls-Royce Phantom VI was presented to The Queen in 1978 for her Silver Jubilee by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders. The oldest car in the fleet is the Phantom IV, built in 1950, 5.76 litre with a straight eight engine and a Mulliner body. There is also a 1987 Phantom VI and two identical Phantom V models built in the early 1960s. The 1978 Phantom VI and the two Phantom V models have a removable exterior roof covering, which exposes an inner lining of perspex, giving a clear view of passengers.
All the cars have fittings for the shield bearing the Royal Coat of Arms and the Royal Standard. The Queen has her own mascot for use on official cars. Designed for her by the artist Edward Seago in the form of St George on a horse poised victorious over a slain dragon, it is made of silver and can be transferred from car to car as necessary. The Duke of Edinburgh's mascot, a heraldic lion wearing a crown, is adapted from his arms.
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