Edward VIII Post Box

One of the more iconic things in England is the post box. These boxes are usually red in colour. The cipher on the box tells who was the king or queen when the box was added to service. You can still find post boxes dating back to Queen Victoria actively being used.

This box is one of the more difficult ones to find. The cipher says EVIIIR. The king at the time this box was placed on the street was Edward VIII. R stands for the latin word for king, Rex. It is rare because Edward (1894-1972) was only king between 20 January to 10 December 1936, so less than a year. He is the only British king to resign or abdicate. He did so to marry Wallis Simpson, an American divorcee.

Edward was a controversial figure to say the least. After he abdicated, he spent most of his time in France. He and his wife visited Germany, and he was honoured by the Nazis. It is also said he entertained the idea from the Nazis that if they invaded England they would place him back as king.

This post box has a stamp machine attached, but it obviously is no longer in service, as evidenced by the cost of the stamps listed. The cost shows 50p for a book of stamps on the machine. Only one first class stamp is 1.35 pounds today. Don’t you wish stamps were that cheap today?