LONDON, Feb 20 : In a move that symbolises a new royal era for the country, the UK government has updated the logo on its official GOV.UK digital services used across all departments for official day-to-day business with the chosen crown of King Charles III.
When the 75-year-old acceded to the throne in September 2022, he chose to use the Tudor Crown in his Royal Cypher, marking a shift away from the St. Edward’s Crown used by his late mother Queen Elizabeth II.
The design of the Tudor Crown can be distinguished by its slightly more domed appearance, which will now become the iconic image across British government notices.
“Following the accession of His Majesty The King, we are updating the symbols of state to reflect the new design of the Tudor Crown,” Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden said as he announced the change on Monday.
“The digital realm is now an integral part of our lives, and as His Majesty’s Government we take pride in this change to GOV.UK today, honouring the chosen crown of our King,” he said.
The GOV.UK logo begins its transition this week to recognise the chosen crown of the King on its homepage and sitewide menu bar. The transition is covered within the usual operating costs of the GOV.UK website, the UK Cabinet Office said.
It added that it is important people are aware of this change given that GOV.UK digital services are used by millions of people every single week – from passport and tax services to other official government information.
“GOV.UK is an essential part of living, studying and working in the UK. It is used by millions of people weekly for both routine and sometimes life-changing reasons such as getting access to benefits or finding a job,” said Alex Burghart, Parliamentary Secretary for the Cabinet Office.
“Whilst we are importantly updating the GOV.UK logo to reflect the new monarch’s choice of crown, this site remains the same trusted and official digital home of the UK government,” he said.
While the new domed shape can be easily identified, the public are encouraged to report any misleading and fraudulent GOV.UK styled websites via its dedicated reporting page during the course of the transition.
The new logo has been created collaboratively between the Government Digital Service (GDS), the Government Communication Service (GCS) and the Royal Household and the majority of changes to replace the St. Edward’s Crown with the Tudor Crown logo on GOV.UK are expected to have taken place by March 1.
“We have worked with teams across government to ensure the roll-out is smooth, and feels seamless to our users. The change will also be made on other government channels, that use the GOV.UK logo, such as apps,” added Christine Bellamy, Director of GOV.UK at the GDS, responsible for closely monitoring online channels to ensure that any websites using protected government branding, or incorrectly claiming to be affiliated with the government, are reported or taken down. (PTI)
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