Royal Cyphers, Coronets, Arms and Monograms

[Warren]

It looks like 'GVR' ie King George V.

 

[Douglass]

A new member looking for help w/ a monogram

Greetings, I hope I have chosen the appropriate forum to ask for your help.

I am trying to identify this monogram carved into the handle of an old walking stick. If anyone recognizes this or can suggest a resource I would be very grateful. Doug

 

[Josefine]

each swedish monarch has their own motto

for Carl XVI Gustaf - For Sweden - With the times

here are others mottos

 

[donothorpe]

I have a part of a cane that is supposed to have belonged to British royalty. I was told that it came from the estate of the Duchess of Windsor, but the insignia doesn't match what I found on the Internet. I have enclosed a photo of the insignia, and would appreciate it if someone could identify it. Please email the answer to me at donothorpe@gmail.com
Thanks,
Don Thorpe

We have a British cane handle with an insignia on it that was handed down to us from a French family. We don't know the origen of the insignia. Can anyone help us identify it?

 

[Ella Kay]

Looks to me like the cypher of the Duchess of Windsor -- three intertwined Ws for "Wallis Warfield Windsor."

 

[interbelic]

help with Blason identification

hello to all of TRF users,

i'm trying for some time to identify this blason, witch seems to be related to Serbian Royal Family.

thank you very much,
"interbelic"

 

[LadyFinn]

1. Monograms of the swedish royal family:
Tyck till! | Bakom Kulisserna

2. Monograms of the danish royal family:
De kongelige monogrammer | Bakom Kulisserna

v Monograms
1. Sweden
2 Denmark

 

[Laura]

It seems to me this is the coat of arms of the Serbian House of Obrenović:

House of Obrenovi

 

[interbelic]

thanks for info

it looks like but it is not.

snake and the sword are not on the House of Obrenovic's blason.

plus: the date 1389-1815 is the period of ottoman empire rulling Serbia.

maybe it is from a familly that was at command in those times.

i wrote to the Museum in Belgrad...nothing yet.

 

[Glasshouse]

Wikimedia Commons Webpage

I'm re-creating images of royal cyphers/royal monograms for Wikimedia, Category:Royal Cyphers - Wikimedia Commons. (Note that this page will be moving in the next couple of weeks.) I would like to thank all of you for posting images of monograms and cyphers and ask that you continue to do so. I'm starting with monograms of royalty from the present on back through the 20th century, but will eventually expand even further back. As you will see, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Monaco and the Netherlands are pretty well represented, though no cyphers of married couples have been completed yet. I'm hoping to get more from Britain, Belgium, Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Spain and even non-reigning houses such as Romania, Greece, Russia, et. Basically, if you have an image that hasn't yet been re-created, post it!

I've found that some images previously posted on these forum pages are old and no longer live links and hope that anything missing can be re-posted. The bigger and clearer the better. Large, clear images from stationery work best for me.

 

[LadyFinn]

Monograms of the norwegian royal family:
Och så de norska… | Bakom Kulisserna

v Norway

 

[Glasshouse]

Does anyone have a sample of Prince Charles' monogram or Prince Edward's?

I'd also like to see samples of the Belgian royal family. We have King Albert, Queen Paola and Princess Mathilda, but no one else. I'd like a good sample of Queen Fabiola's, Prince Philippe, Prince Laurant, Princess Astrid, Princess Claire and Prince Lorenz's monograms.

Thanks.

 

[LadyK]

I've looked for the Earl of Wessex's monogram (I'm assuming that's the Edward you mean) and can't find anything. Nor did I find anything for the Princess Royal, the Duke of Glouscester or (Prince Edward) the Duke of Kent.

Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, appears to use the three feathers as his cypher. If he does have a personal monogram I haven't found it. The Duchess of Cornwall also uses the Prince of Wales' feathers as her mark.

In the process of looking for the monograms I found this website that has pictures of British royal cyphers on military buttons. It includes marks for all the monarchs from Victoria to Elizabeth II, plus Queen Alexandra and Queen Mary.
____________________________________

Denmark
Here is a link for all the current Danish monograms. Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg's monogram and her shared monogram with Prince Joachim can be found on earlier pages.

 

[Glasshouse]

Thanks. The symbol with the feathers is the badge of the Prince of Wales, . I'm sure he uses this in place of a cypher, but he must have had a cypher before he was made the Prince of Wales.

Thanks for the link to the other site. That's good information.

 

[Glasshouse]

We have a British cane handle with an insignia on it that was handed down to us from a French family. We don't know the origen of the insignia. Can anyone help us identify it?

That's the cypher of William and Mary of Great Britain, from the 1690's.

 

[Glasshouse]

The Royal Cyphers project on Wikicommons is really taking off. There is a general category, and subcategories for individual countries are created as enough cyphers are posted to create a new country subcategory. Right now, we have cyphers from Austria, Germany and the various German houses, Italy, Mexico, Brazil, Portugal, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria and Albania, all of which are mostly from historical figures. The subcategories contain just under 200 cyphers for Russia, France, UK, Belgium, Denmark, Greece, Hawaii, Monaco, Norway, Romania, Spain, Sweden, and the Netherlands, which have more contemporary cyphers. Again, the link is Category:Royal Cyphers - Wikimedia Commons.

On the “wish list” is a monogram for the Duke of Brabant. I have found a couple of previous postings on the forum for his monogram, (a combination “PF?”) but the images are no longer there. Also, individual cyphers for the Prince and Princess of Asturias, Queen Anne-Marie, Crown Prince Pavlos and Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece are needed, but anything you could provide that we don’t yet have would be greatly appreciated. And finally, I’m hoping someone can confirm the cypher below. I am assuming that it’s for Prince Amadeo of Belgium, or is it for his mother, Princess Astrid? It looks like a royal proclamation of some kind regarding Prince Amadeo, but since his mother is also listed on the document and she’s the senior royal, it could be her monogram. We could also use cyphers from the other members of the Belgian royal family.

 

[Glasshouse]

The Royal Cyphers project Category:Royal Cyphers - Wikimedia Commons now has almost 400 royal monograms including the entire family of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, and this one of his mother, Empress Maria Feodorovna



and these two from Queen Marie of Romania:




Prince Amadeo of Belgium's monogram was recently uploaded:



As was Queen Sofia's of Spain:



Still on the wish list is a monogram of Prince Philippe of Belgium and those of any other minor Belgian royals, as well as monograms of the Spanish and Luxembourg royals. If anyone has any images that they could post, it would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Lord Sosnowitz]

It's really great news, that the Wikipedia published these monos

 

[Alexander II]

Royal Monogram

Dear All,
I have a painting dated 1914 with a Royal monogram on the reverse, in Cyrillic or Greek which reads "ΜΠ". I would be very grateful if you could help me finding information about this monogram.

Best, Alexander II

 

[Glasshouse]

Possibly Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia (1890–1958)? That's definitely the Russian crown surmounting the monogram.

 

[Alexander II]

Dear Glasshouse thank you very much, I really appreciate it. I was thinking that this monogram could also be referred to Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia (b.Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, 1854-1920). Could it be possible?

 

[Comte de Hainaut]

And finally, I’m hoping someone can confirm the cypher below. I am assuming that it’s for Prince Amadeo of Belgium, or is it for his mother, Princess Astrid? It looks like a royal proclamation of some kind regarding Prince Amadeo, but since his mother is also listed on the document and she’s the senior royal, it could be her monogram. We could also use cyphers from the other members of the Belgian royal family.

Good morning Glasshouse,

Sorry for the very late participation in this topic.

I'm not that sure it's the personnal monogram of Prince Amedeo. Couldn't it be the monogram of Prince Lorenz and Princess Astrid. I see 2 "L" and a "A". In anycase it is the very first time I see it.

The image shows the page written in French and Flemish of a golden book (I suppose) of the Royal Military School of Brussels when prince Amédéo took the Oath as Army officer on the 27th of September 2007.

Bruxelles, 27 septembre 2007

En présences de Leurs Altesses Royales,
la Princesse Astrid et le Prince Lorenz

Prestation de serment de Son Altesse Royale le Prince Amédéo


Astrid - Lorenz
Amédéo
​

 

[Glasshouse]

It's very possible, Alexander. I've even found some monograms "recycled," such as Princess Alexandra of Great Britain using the same monogram as Queen Alexandra of Great Britain , though with different crowns.

 

[Glasshouse]

I'm sure you're absolutely right. I'll correct the image. Thank you very much for your assistance here. I've been asking if anyone has images of Belgian monograms that they could share for posting on Wikimedia Commons. I'd like to find a monogram for Prince Philippe, a dual cypher for him and Princess Mathilda, and monograms for all of the junior royals. A dual cypher for Boudouin and Fabiola would be nice as well.

Thanks again.

 

[Glasshouse]

The wedding monogram for Prince Albert and Charlene of Monaco.

 

[manper86]

Unknown Cypher

Hi there,

I have recently come across this cypher and I have looked everywhere but cannot find who it belongs to. Can you please help me?

Many Thanks,


M

 

[Glasshouse]

It looks like the Tudor Crown commonly used by the British since the 19th Century and it looks like a woman's monogram since it's inside a diamond shaped losenge. I wonder if it's Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother while she was Queen Consort. Do you have any background on where you found it? Is it engraved on silverware?

 

[manper86]

Hi Glasshouse,

Thanks for your reply. I have done a little research and found the Queen Mother's cyphers online and they seem to be different to the other one:



http://imageshack.us







I saw the other cypher on a silver cigarette case with a date 1914 also engraved on it. At first, I thought that it was a British too, because of the crown, but cannot think of anyone that it might have belonged to. Could it be continental?

Many thanks,
M

 

[Glasshouse]

I'm stumped. The crown definitely looks Tudor, but that's not to say that it couldn't be stylized.

 

[manper86]

Hi Glasshouse,

My sentiments exactly...

I thought it was very interesting what you mentioned earlier about the diamond shaped lozenge, so I went online again and found that they were mainly used by single women.

Wikipedia says:

"The lozenge has for many centuries been particularly associated with women as a vehicle for the display of their coats of arms. In modern English and Scottish, but not Canadian, heraldry, the arms of an unmarried woman and of widows are usually shown on a lozenge rather than an escutcheon"

I agree that the crown might be stylised, the whole cypher seems to be (to me even looks a little Art Deco-ish) so maybe it is not British at all.

Also, the exact date engraved is “4. Juni 1914” (in German)

Thanks,

M