Nearly a year on from her death, Queen Elizabeth II still features – albeit in a small way – in the daily lives of her former subjects.
Because although King Charles’ face started to appear on coins in December 2022, it will still be some months before he starts replacing his mother on our banknotes.
The change is expected to begin halfway through 2024 with the new notes entering circulation as and when needed – such as when existing notes become too worn or damaged to be used. This is, according to the Bank of England, in line with advice from the royal household, who want to minimise the environmental impact of the change.
The Bank of England also said new notes featuring the King will enter circulation to “meet any overall increase in demand for banknotes.”
All polymer notes featuring the late Queen Elizabeth remain legal tender and can continued to be used by the public even after notes featuring the King have entered circulation, so currency with both monarchs will circulate simultaneously.
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Polymer notes replaced paper notes in September 2022, but paper notes can still be exchanged at the bank’s premises or via post.
The new notes featuring Charles will continue to have the same famous faces o the reverse side – with Winston Churchill on £5 notes; Jane Austen on £10 notes and JMW Turner on £20 notes. £50 will continue to feature Alan Turing — a mathematician widely seen as being one of the father’s of artificial intelligence who helped crack codes in the Second World War and is credited with helping the Allies win the war.
Governor Andrew Bailey has said of the new notes: “I am very proud that the Bank is releasing the design of our new banknotes which will carry a portrait of King Charles III. This is a significant moment, as The King is only the second monarch to feature on our banknotes. People will be able to use these new notes as they start to enter circulation in 2024.”
Which other country’s currency features the British monarch?
Queen Elizabeth was featured on the currency of over 15 countries, some of which she was also head of state.
But this won’t be the same for Charles.
Earlier in the year, Australia announced that they would be replacing the image of the British monarch on their $5 notes with a design that honour indigenous communities — previously, Queen Elizabeth had been on the note since 1992.
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Shortly after the Queen’s death in September last year, polling showed that only 24% of Canadians wanted Charles to replace his mother on their currency, with only a further 10% wanting to keep him as their head of state at all.
The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) recently announced that the image of Queen Elizabeth will be removed from their dollar bills, which she was featured on since 1984.
Established in 1983, the banks covers Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
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Portraits of the late Queen had previously featured on notes issued by East Caribbean Currency Authority since 1965 and on notes issued by British Caribbean Currency Board since 1950.
The ECCB has entered into a public consultation about replacing the former British monarch on the notes with the bank’s logo, which was designed in 1984 by Dennis Richards and reproduced in blue, green and yellow by Marijka Grey in 1992.
The announcement follows a rise in republican sentiment in the region.
Watch: Future of the Monarchy: the growing threat of the royals’ dark colonial past
