ROYAL AUTOPEN SIGNATURES

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip Autopen Christmas Cards

How to tell a Royal autograph from a remarkably convincing machine-made signature

The signature is in ink. It looks handwritten. But did our former Queen or Prince Philip actually hold the pen?

For collectors of Royal memorabilia, few objects are more appealing than an original signed Christmas card from Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.

The cards are often beautifully produced, featuring Royal photographs, embossed or gilt Royal cyphers and carefully worded Christmas greetings. Beneath the photograph are the familiar signatures:

Elizabeth R and Philip, usually accompanied by the year.

To the casual observer, they look like personal, hand-signed signatures.

In most cases, however, they were produced by an Autopen machine.

That fact is important — not because an Autopen card is necessarily fake, but because there is a considerable difference between an authentic Royal Christmas card carrying a mechanically reproduced signature and one personally signed by the Queen or Prince Philip. The difference can be significant when it comes to value: one card could be worth around £750, while another apparently similar example might be worth only £75.

So, for collectors, understanding that distinction is extremely important.

What every collector needs to remember is that the Royal Household sent out over 40,000 cards for anniversaries, weddings and other milestones each year, in addition to an estimated 750 Christmas cards. Put into perspective, that would have required the Queen and Prince Philip to sign approximately 780 cards every week !

In simple terms, that is why the Autopen became such an important part of the Royal Household’s operation.

The chances of your Royal signed card being genuinely hand-signed by both the Queen and Prince Philip are therefore very slim indeed.

But how can you tell?

Read on to find out.

And, by the way, Prince Charles also used an Autopen. Whether, as King Charles III, he will continue to use one for cards issued jointly with Queen Camilla remains to be seen.

His grandmother, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, however, never used an Autopen.

What is an Autopen?

An Autopen is a mechanical device designed to reproduce a person’s handwriting or signature.

The name Autopen is a trademark associated with the Autopen company in the USA, although there are other methods and machines capable of mechanically reproducing signatures onto cards and documents. The Royal Family, however, has traditionally used the familiar Autopen system.

Unlike a printed facsimile, an Autopen actually moves a pen across the paper.

The result is therefore a genuine ink signature, but one produced mechanically rather than by the person whose name appears on the card.

This is one of the most important things for a collector to understand.

An Autopen signature can look remarkably natural. It can contain genuine ink, curves and pen lifts, and it can reproduce the same signature repeatedly with extraordinary accuracy.

The Autopen machines used by the Royal Family are exceedingly well set up and maintained. In my experience, they produce some of the finest examples of mechanically reproduced signatures that you will encounter.

That is why so many collectors — and, indeed, dealers — can be fooled by them.

Just because a dealer or collector has described an item as “signed in ink” or even “hand-signed”, it does not necessarily mean that the Queen or Prince Philip personally held the pen.

The Royal couple would, of course, have supplied original examples of their signatures in order for the machine to reproduce them. These original examples form the basis from which the machine creates the repeated signatures.

Why did the Royal Household use an Autopen?

The answer is largely practical.

Queen Elizabeth II was one of the world’s most heavily photographed and corresponded-with public figures. During her long reign, the Royal Household dealt with an enormous quantity of correspondence, official documents, photographs, Christmas cards and cards marking Royal occasions.

It would have been impossible for the Queen personally to hand-sign every item requiring her signature.

The Autopen provided a practical solution.

It allowed authorised Royal signatures to be reproduced repeatedly while retaining the appearance of handwriting.

There is therefore nothing inherently suspicious about discovering an Autopen signature on a genuine Royal Christmas card.

Indeed, the machine itself is part of the story of how the Royal Household managed its extraordinary workload.

When did the Queen start using an Autopen?

This is one area where collectors should avoid overly precise rules.

It is thought that Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip used the Autopen occasionally from around 1956, with more extensive use from approximately 1962.

Those dates are useful because Royal Christmas cards are normally dated, making comparison between examples much easier.

Importantly, it appears that the Royal Household changed the Autopen signatures from year to year. Consequently, each year’s signatures can appear slightly different.

This is extremely useful to collectors.

Rather than assuming that there is one permanent “Queen Elizabeth II Autopen signature”, you should compare the signature with other known examples from the same period — and ideally from the same year.

It also demonstrates why the frequently repeated claim that “all Royal Christmas Autopen signatures are the same” is wrong.

They are not.

Genuine hand-signed examples also exist.

The transition period

The late 1950s and early 1960s are the most difficult period for collectors trying to identify Royal Autopen signatures.

Rather than drawing an absolute line through one particular year, collectors should think of this as a transition period.

There may have been occasions when the Queen or Prince Philip personally signed cards even though Autopen technology was already available.

Conversely, the existence of an early Autopen example does not necessarily establish that every card produced that year was mechanically signed.

This is why authentication should always consider the individual card.

The most useful evidence comes from:

documented examples;
comparison signatures;
the year of the card;
contemporary auction descriptions;
and, where necessary, specialist examination.

A useful explanation of how a mechanical signature machine works can be found in the Shapell Manuscript Foundation’s article “The Robot Pen.”

The Robot Pen — Shapell Manuscript Foundation

How do you spot an Autopen signature?

There is no single test.

The most reliable approach is to compare the signature against known authentic examples and look for repeated characteristics.

The following points provide a useful starting point.

1. Compare several signatures

This is probably the single most useful technique.

If you have only one Royal card, you have limited evidence.

If you have five or ten cards from the same year, the picture becomes much clearer.

Place the signatures side by side.

Look closely at:

individual letters;
spacing;
starting strokes;
ending strokes;
the size of the signature;
and the relationship between the signature and the date.

An Autopen is creating the same signature over and over again, reproducing the same movements and characteristics each time.

A human being cannot reproduce a signature with exactly the same consistency time after time.

That natural variation is one of the most useful things to look for.

2. Look for excessive consistency

A person’s signature naturally changes.

Even someone who signs their name thousands of times will produce variations.

The pen may move faster on one card.

The signature may be slightly larger on another.

A stroke may finish a millimetre earlier.

Pressure may change.

The angle may alter.

The relationship between individual letters may vary slightly.

An Autopen, by contrast, is designed to repeat the same pattern over and over again.

Consequently, several signatures that are extraordinarily similar can be a strong indication of an Autopen signature.

The key is not merely finding two signatures that look alike.

It is finding unusual characteristics that repeat in exactly the same way.

That is where comparative examination becomes so powerful.

3. Examine pen pressure

Look at the thickness and depth of colour of the ink.

A handwritten signature normally involves changes in pressure throughout the signature.

The writer presses down and relaxes pressure as the hand moves.

This can produce subtle differences between individual strokes.

An Autopen will generally produce a more mechanically consistent line.

However, this should never be used as a standalone test.

Different pens, inks and paper surfaces can affect the appearance of the line, and a genuine signature can sometimes appear remarkably uniform.

4. Examine the beginning and ending of strokes

The start and finish of a signature can provide useful clues.

Watch what happens when the pen:

touches the paper

and

leaves the paper.

A human signer naturally speeds up and slows down whilst signing.

Pressure may change as the hand begins moving.

The final flourish may taper naturally.

An Autopen reproduces the programmed movement and can therefore produce remarkably consistent starts and finishes.

But here we encounter two of the great myths of Autopen collecting.

The “wobbly signature” myth

It is often said that Autopen signatures can always be identified because they look shaky.

That is not a reliable test.

Royal Autopen signatures can be extremely smooth and convincing and rarely show obvious mechanical characteristics to the naked eye.

So:

Smooth does not necessarily mean genuine.

And:

Wobbly does not necessarily mean Autopen.

The “dots at the start and finish” myth

Another commonly repeated belief is that an Autopen signature can be identified by small dots of ink at the beginning or end of the signature.

This may be true of some mechanically produced signatures, but it is not a reliable way of identifying the Royal Autopen signatures.

Examine a Royal Autopen example with the naked eye and you will generally not see these supposed dots.

Even under 10× magnification, you may still see nothing obvious.

The Royal machines are simply that well set up.

This is another reason why collectors should not rely on a single visual trick when authenticating a Royal signature.

5. Look for a personal dedication

A standard Royal Christmas card might contain nothing more than the printed greeting and the signatures.

That will generally suggest that the signatures are Autopen.

However, a card containing a personal message is much more interesting.

For example:

To John and Mary — with love — Elizabeth R and Philip

would warrant much closer examination.

In my experience, a personal dedication is one of the strongest indicators that the card has been genuinely hand-signed.

I have yet to see an Autopen signature on a genuinely dedicated Royal Christmas card, although that does not mean that an example does not exist.

This is an important distinction.

“I have never seen one” is not the same as “one does not exist.”

For the collector, however, a personalised dedication should always be treated as something worthy of closer investigation.

6. Provenance — does it help?

Imagine two identical Royal Christmas cards.

One has no history.

The other can be traced through a named recipient, an original envelope, a family collection and eventually a reputable auction.

The second is much more interesting from an authentication standpoint.

But provenance does not eliminate the need for examination.

Many Autopen cards will come with their original envelopes, perhaps even addressed to someone within the Royal Household.

That only proves that the card is an original Royal card.

It does not, by itself, prove that the signatures were personally written by the Queen or Prince Philip.

I have now seen hundreds of these Autopen-signed cards sold as authentic by dealers and collectors alike.

So always do your checks.

And if you are in doubt, ask an expert.

Autopen does not mean counterfeit

This distinction is fundamental.

An Autopen Royal Christmas card can be completely genuine.

The card may have:

originated from the Royal Household;
an authentic Royal photograph;
genuine Royal cyphers;
genuine printed wording;
ink signatures;
and genuine Royal provenance.

The signature itself may nevertheless have been produced mechanically.

It is therefore more accurate to describe such an object as:

An authentic Royal Christmas card bearing Autopen signatures of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.

Calling it a “fake” loses an important distinction.

The card can be completely genuine while the signatures are mechanically reproduced.

A Royal Autopen timeline guide

Period	Collector’s perspective
1950s	Genuine hand-signed examples exist; Autopen use may occur during the later part of the decade
Early 1960s	Autopen use becomes increasingly widespread
1960s	Numerous Autopen examples documented
1970s	Extensive Autopen use
1980s	Extensive Autopen use
1990s	Continued widespread use
2000s	Continued use
2010s	Continued use
2020	Final jointly signed Christmas card of Elizabeth II and Prince Philip
2021	Queen’s final Christmas card

The dates in this table should be regarded as a collector’s guide rather than an absolute authentication rule.

Individual cards should always be examined on their own merits.

Why the Autopen cards still matter

It would be a mistake to dismiss Autopen cards simply because the signatures were mechanically produced.

These cards are genuine historical objects.

The photographs record members of the Royal Family at particular moments.

The greetings reflect the language and style of the period.

The Royal cyphers document the changing visual identity of the monarchy.

The cards themselves can have provenance connecting them to people who received correspondence from the Royal Household.

And the use of the Autopen tells us something about the machinery of monarchy itself.

The signature may not have been written personally, but the card can still be an authentic piece of Royal history.

And their value?

Well, they can still command around £75, depending upon the year, condition, photograph, and overall desirability.

That is considerably different from a genuinely hand-signed example, which can command substantially more.

Final thoughts

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip’s Christmas cards provide an unusually fascinating lesson in autograph collecting.

They demonstrate that:

Ink is not the same thing as handwriting.

A mechanically produced signature can be remarkably convincing, and in my experience the Royal Autopen signatures are amongst the very best examples of mechanically reproduced signatures you will encounter.

The answer therefore isn’t to search for one magical Autopen characteristic.

It is to gather evidence.

Look at the year.

Compare multiple examples.

Examine the individual letters.

Study pen pressure and stroke endings.

Look for personal inscriptions.

Investigate provenance.

And, whenever possible, compare the card with documented examples.

Perhaps the most useful principle for the collector is this:

Don’t ask only, “Does this look like the Queen’s signature?”

Ask, “Does this signature behave like real handwriting — and can I prove it?”

That is the difference between merely owning a Royal Christmas card and understanding exactly what you have.

Some Useful links

A guide to Autopen signatures.

Do I Need To Get My Autographs Authenticated?

How to Spot Printed Signatures.

About the Author

Garry King has been collecting autographs and memorabilia for more than forty years and has worked full-time in the autograph and signed memorabilia industry for over thirty-five years.

He is the owner of Autografica.co.uk and has written extensively on authentication, collecting and preservation. His expertise has been featured on television and radio throughout the UK, as well as in numerous newspapers and specialist magazines.

His extensive experience examining Royal autographs and memorabilia has given him a particular insight into the use of Autopen signatures and the difficulties they can present to collectors and dealers.

Disclaimer

This article is provided for general educational and informational purposes only and reflects the author’s opinions, experience and observations within the collecting industry.

It should not be regarded as financial, investment, valuation or professional advice. Collectable markets can change over time, and the future value of any item cannot be guaranteed.

Collectors should carry out their own research and seek appropriate specialist advice where necessary before buying, selling or making decisions about valuable items.

While every effort has been made to ensure that the information is accurate at the time of publication, no guarantee is given that it applies to every individual item or situation.