Two years after he ascended to the throne as King of England, King Charles III is on currency notes in the UK Banknotes featuring a portrait of King Charles entered into circulation in Britain on June 5.
King Charles succeeded Queen Elizabeth as head of state in September 2022. The King’s image will appear on new notes for 5, 10, 20 and 50 pounds King Charles III is only the second monarch to have his image printed on currency notes in England. The portrait on the currency note is based on his picture taken in 2013.
His mother, Queen Elizabeth II was the first sovereign to be featured on bank notes in 1960. She was the longest serving British monarch. Before her, coins in England have carried images of kings and queens for more than 1000 years. But it could be a while before the new notes are commonly seen in England.
The Bank of England has said that given the costs involved in printing new currency, the new bank notes will be slowly circulated in the market. The Bank of England said this was being done in line with the wishes of the Royal Family to ‘minimise environmental and financial impact of the change’.
Initially the new notes will be printed to replace old, worn-out or torn notes. The design of the new banknotes was revealed in December 2022, and the first notes of each denomination was presented to King Charles as is tradition. King Charles was presented with a full set of the lowest serial numbers.
The Bank of England also clarified that banknotes with Queen Elizabeth will continue to legal tender.
As per a report in the BBC, the first new banknotes were printed last year. From printing to being brought into circulation, the time was used to allow automated machines that accept cash to be updated to recognise the new designs.
