First post box with King Charles III cypher and other quirky post boxes

The first red post box with the cypher, which is like a signature, of King Charles III has been revealed by the Royal Mail.

It was unveiled in Great Cambourne, Cambridgeshire, with help from children from a nearby school.

The King's cypher is made up of his initial C, with the roman numeral III and an R for Rex - Latin for king - under a Tudor Crown. The King has granted the Royal Mail special use of his cypher, which is his personal property.

Stamping red post boxes in this way dates back 170 years to the reign of Queen Victoria.

Post boxes are sometimes painted different colours, or decorated, for special occasions. Take a look at some more fancy post boxes.

Here King Charles III and Queen Camilla take a look at a one stitch-tacular crochet mailbox topper.

It's a knitted version of St Edward's crown, which is the same piece of impressive metalwork that was place on the King's head during his  coronation last year.

This was on show in the town of Selkirk in the Scottish Borders in 2023.

Here's a knitted version of Queen Elizabeth II with one of her corgis and Paddington Bear.

It was made for the  Platinum Jubilee in 2022  when Queen Elizabeth II became the first British monarch to mark 70 years on the throne.

In celebration of this big milestone, there was an extended bank holiday.

The knitted decoration was placed on a post box in Abingdon, near Oxford.

Crocheters around the country decorated their local post boxes with Women's World Cup-themed toppers ahead of the competition in 2023.

The Lionesses made it all the way to the final  when they lost 2-1 to Spain.

These toppers celebrate the success of the England Women's team, who were  winners of Euro 2022 .

For the 2012 London Olympics, 110 post boxes were repainted gold to celebrate Britain's Olympic and Paralympic champions.

Here's tennis player Andy Murray wearing his Olympic gold medal next to one.

Each box had a plaque fitted, naming the athlete in whose honour it was painted.

It was first time in Royal Mail's history that the traditional red box colour was changed permanently.

The postal company said the boxes had become "cherished local landmarks".