The Bank of England (BoE) has unveiled its first banknotes that feature King Charles III, which are set to enter into circulation from mid-2024 to gradually replace those currently bearing his mother’s portrait, Queen Elizabeth II.

In a statement, BoE said that the portrait of the King “will appear on existing designs of all four polymer banknotes (£5, £10, £20, and £50), with no other changes to the existing design”. His image will be printed on the front of the banknotes, as well as in the see-through security window, whereas the back of the banknotes will continue to feature Winston Churchill (£5), Jane Austen (£10), JMW Turner (£20), and Alan Turing (£50).

“In line with guidance from the Royal Household, to minimise the environmental and financial impact of this change, new notes will only be printed to replace worn banknotes and to meet any overall increase in demand for banknotes. Notes featuring HM Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III will therefore co-circulate,” BoE further elaborated, adding that all polymer banknotes carrying the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II will remain as legal tender and can be used by the public as usual.

The governor of England’s central bank, Andrew Bailey also highlighted that King Charles III is only the second monarch to feature on circulating BoE banknotes, with his mother being the first starting in 1960; prior to that, images of the country’s rulers were featured on coins. It is also reported that there are about 4.5 billion individual BoE notes worth approximately £80 billion in circulation at present.

Meanwhile, fifty pence coins bearing the image of King Charles III have already entered circulation earlier this month on 8 December 2022, distributed via post offices across the country. At that time, an estimated 4.9 million of the new coins were handed over to post offices, with about half of the total number earmarked for distribution in a phased manner. And just like the banknotes, coins carrying the image of Queen Elizabeth II will also still be accepted in shops alongside these new coins.

Queen Elizabeth II passed away on 8 September 2022 at the age of 96, and was subsequently laid to rest with a state funeral service at Westminster Hall on 19 September. The coronation of King Charles III, meanwhile, is set to be held on 6 May 2023.

(Sources: Bank of England, BBC)

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• Andrew Bailey
• Bank of England
• Banknotes
• Foreign Banknotes
• King Charles III
• Queen Elizabeth II