With Apple iCloud email, emails are encrypted between your Apple iCloud mail account on the server and your devices. In other words, when you open your mail app and read an iCloud email, it is encrypted while it is being transmitted to your device from Apple’s server. Similarly, when you send an email, it is encrypted in transmission between your device and Apple’s servers.
It is NOT encrypted when Apple’s services send that email on to the recipient, because that can only be done if you and the recipient have set up common encryption and exchanged appropriate encryption keys with each other. So as I said before, if you want to actually send and receive encrypted emails with someone then both parties need to set up encryption with their email.
Messages in iCloud are also encrypted when being sent or received by your devices, and when stored in your iCloud account, as well as when being transmitted to any recipient. But end to end encryption of iMessages is possible because it’s a closed system - Apple owns it and runs it and it only works between Apple devices. So they can ensure that everyone is using the same app, the same online source and thus the same encryption system and settings. Some other closed environment, proprietary internet messaging services (e,g. WhatsApp) also offer end to end encryption because again, everyone is on the same closed messaging system where the owner can control the traffic. Although note that not all internet messaging services offer full end to end encryption.
But there are countless email service providers and systems around the world, so the only way to encrypt email end to end is for individual users to set it up with their account and their contacts. It’s impossible for any email service provider to set up encryption because they cannot control the receiving account systems.
iCloud security overview - Apple Support