Voters were left stunned today after ministers excitedly announced a change on the government’s official website.
The Gov.uk website has been given a new logo to mark King Charles’ accession to the throne.
Oliver Dowden, the deputy prime minister, spoke of his “pride” in issuing the warning about the “digital world”.
But many Britons on social media were stunned by what they described as an ‘almost completely unnoticeable change’.
And most just wondered how much the rebrand had cost.
The Gov.uk website has been given a new logo to mark King Charles’ accession to the throne
According to the Cabinet Office, the new Gov.uk logo reflects the Tudor crown chosen by King Charles in his royal code.
Previously, the St Edward’s Crown was used by Queen Elizabeth II.
The Tudor Crown is described as being ‘slightly more curvaceous’ in appearance and will now adorn the Gov.uk homepage and menu bar for the entire site.
In addition to Gov.uk, all other copies of the crown used across the government will also be changed to reflect Charles’s reign.
Mr Dowden said: “Following the accession of His Majesty the King, we are updating the state symbols to reflect the new design of the Tudor Crown.
“The digital world is now an integral part of our lives, and as His Majesty’s Government, we are proud of this change in today’s government, in honor of our King’s chosen crown.”
Most of the changes to the replacement of the St Edward’s Crown with the Tudor Crown logo on Gov.uk are expected to have taken place by early next month.
Cabinet Office Minister Alex Burghart said: ‘Gov.uk is an essential part of living, studying and working in Britain.
‘It is used by millions of people every week for both routine and sometimes life-changing reasons, such as accessing benefits or finding a job.
‘While we are making an important update to the Gov.uk logo to reflect the new monarch’s choice of crown, this site remains the trusted and official digital home of the UK government.’
The new Gov.uk logo (below) reflects the Tudor crown chosen by King Charles in his royal code. The old logo (above) reflected the St. Edward’s Crown used by Queen Elizabeth II
Many on social media were quick to wonder exactly how much the change to the new logo had cost the government.
“How much taxpayer money did they spend on that almost completely unnoticeable change?” someone asked.
Another said: ‘Hello @OliverDowden, how much have you spit on the wall with this new logo? Tell me it wasn’t more than £2.50.’
Others suggested the government could turn its attention to other priorities.
A third wrote: ‘Well, if it cuts NHS waiting lists and fixes a few school roofs… Oh.’
Another said: ‘People are attacking the Tories but at least we now have a slightly more domed crown on the Gov.uk website.’
The Cabinet Office said the costs of changing the Gov.uk logo would be ‘covered within the usual operating costs of the Gov.uk website’.
Graham Smith, chief executive of anti-monarchy group Republic, told MailOnline that the change to the Gov.uk logo was ‘very strange’.
‘As with most things about the monarchy, it is a useless piece of decoration that fails to reflect the country as it is, and instead represents a feudal institution that finds it impossible to keep up with modern times ‘ he added.