Royal Boxes
The origin of the Despatch Box goes back to the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. A ‘despatch’ refers to an important message or communication for the monarch. Such important messages had to be concealed from prying eyes & foreign spies.
The practical & simple means of achieving secrecy was to place papers bearing messages in a locked box.
Adding a royal cypher or a royal crest to the exterior of the box established & emphasised the importance of the documents within.
Despatch Boxes bearing the monarch’s cypher are used daily by The King & his government... They are ubiquitous in the daily governance of the country. The Despatch Boxes ensure that The King & the government can execute their official responsibilities.
Wherever in the world the sovereign & government ministers are, their Despatch Boxes are close by.
THE KING & HIS DESPATCH BOXES
The British sovereign as a constitutional monarch, has an integral role in the governance of the UK. Walter Bagehot defined the monarchs’ role as, the right to be consulted, the right to encourage & the right to warn.
The King continues to sign all legislation, & the Prime Minister & other ministers act in The King’s name. Consequently, The King receives a constant stream of Despatch Boxes containing documents from the Government, Parliament & his Private Secretary.
Barrow Hepburn & Gale played its part in the historic change of monarch that occurred on the 8th September 2022, making new Despatch Boxes for the King bearing his royal cypher. The new Despatch Boxes of His Majesty’s Government display the new royal cypher of King Charles III‘
HER MAJESTY QUEEN ELIZABETH II AND HER DESPATCH BOXES.
HM Queen Elizabeth II was highly regarded & received praise for being an admirable constitutional monarch., The Queen formed important working relationships with her Prime Ministers & her staff.
Robert Armstrong, a former Cabinet Secretary & Private Secretary to the Queen once commented, “…I keep saying it: she’s a very professional lady”. He went on to say, “As the Queen’s private secretary, I saw her daily – & sometimes more than once a day – I would go and see her with the ‘boxes’, & the paperwork”.
To communicate her role as working constitutional monarch, The Queen chose to be photographed with her official Barrow Hepburn & Gale Despatch Box to mark the occasion when she became the longest reigning monarch in British history.
