Royal cypher Royal cypher In modern heraldry, a royal cypher is a monogram-like device of a country's reigning sovereign, typically consisting of the initials of the monarch's name and title, sometimes interwoven and often surmounted by a crown. Where such a cypher is used by an emperor or empress, it is called an "imperial cypher". In the system used by various Commonwealth realms, the title is abbreviated as "R" for "rex" or "regina" (Latin for "king" and "queen"). Previously, "I" stood for "imperator" or "imperatrix" (Latin words for "emperor" and "empress") of India. The cypher is displayed on some government buildings, impressed
Kandake Kandake Kandake, kadake or kentake, often Latinised as Candace (), was the Meroitic language term for "queen" or possibly "royal woman". Contemporary Greek and Roman sources treat it as a title. Several ruling queens of the ancient Kingdom of Kush, with its capital at Meroë, bore the title, although it may have been a general title for women of the royal family. It is often taken to mean "queen-mother" or "mother of the reigning king", but although this was the common status of ruling kandakes, the term itself did not have this specific meaning. The name Candace is derived from