Portraits of King Charles III will replace those of Queen Elizabeth II on UK currency

Kings Charless III Reign

The Bank of England will reveal images of updated banknotes featuring a portrait of His Majesty King Charles III by end of this year. His Majesty will appear on existing designs of all four polymer banknotes; £5 £10 £20 and £50. This will be a continuation of the current polymer series and no additional changes will be made to the banknotes design.

The currency emblazoned with images of King Charles III is expected to enter circulation by mid 2024. Current banknotes featuring the portraits of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will continue to be legal tender and will only be removed from circulation once they become worn and damaged. They will co-circulate with those featuring His Majesty King Charles III

The move is being made in line with guidance from the Royal Household to minimize the environmental and financial impact of the change of monarch.

“The first coins bearing the effigy of his majesty King Charles III will enter circulation in line with demand from banks and post offices the Royal Mint said. This means the coinage of King Charles III and Queen Elizabeth II will co-circulate in the UK for years to come.”

For almost 70 years, Queen Elizabeth II has appeared on the UK coins with different portraits of her profile as she aged. She was featured on the nations bank notes for more than 60 years, the first British monarch to do so. Her portraits also feature on the currency of several countries that were formerly under British rule.

As the country slowly transitions into King Charles IIIs new reign, this is just one of the many changes. With a new monarch comes a series of revamped national symbols apart from currency. Earlier this week, Buckingham Palace released the king’s new royal cypher which will replace the queen’s monogram on state documents and post boxes.