United Kingdom: the first banknotes bearing the effigy of Charles III in circulation mid-2024

Sylvie Claire / September 27, 2022

The first banknotes bearing the effigy of the new King Charles III will enter into circulation in the United Kingdom in mid-2024, but the portrait will be revealed by the end of this year, the Bank of England announced Tuesday.

The monarch’s portrait “will appear on the existing designs of the four polymer bills” of 5, 10, 20 and 50 pounds, “and no additional changes” will be made, according to a statement issued a week after Elizabeth II’s funeral.

In addition, bills bearing the effigy of Elizabeth II will continue to circulate in parallel and will be withdrawn only when they are damaged to “minimize the environmental and financial impact of the change of monarch”, following the directives of the Royal Household, says the monetary institute.

Existing stocks of bills, featuring the now-defunct sovereign, will be put into circulation as planned, while the new polymer currency – which has gradually replaced paper money in the UK since 2016 – will only be printed to take the place of “worn-out bills and to meet any overall increase in demand. »

Buckingham Palace also unveiled Monday night the new royal monogram – the initials of Charles III – which will be displayed on government buildings and mailboxes, and stamped on official documents.

Under Elizabeth II, the monogram was “EIIR”, for Elizabeth II Regina (Queen in Latin). The royal monogram will become “CIIIR” for Charles III Rex (king in Latin). In the images of the monogram unveiled by Buckingham, the C and R are intertwined and a crown floats above the initials.

Mail leaving Buckingham Palace will be stamped with the new “CIIIR” on Tuesday, marking the end of the royal mourning period for the Queen, who died on September 8 at the age of 96.

After the national anthem, now sung in its male version, “God Save The King”, many aspects of daily life in the United Kingdom will change with the accession of Charles III to the throne. The face of the new king will begin to appear on currency across the Channel, but also in other countries around the world, and on British stamps. The names of the government, Her Majesty, the Treasury and Customs have already become “His Majesty’s” names.