The Bank of England unveiled the design for the first set of bank notes to feature Britain’s new monarch, King Charles III, on Tuesday.
The portrait of King Charles III will appear on the existing designs of all four polymer banknotes in the denominations of £5, £10, £20 and £50> The bank notes will have no other changes to the existing designs of the notes featuring the 74-year-old monarch’s late mother Queen Elizabeth II’s portrait.
The new notes with the King are expected to enter circulation by mid-2024. The current notes featuring the Queen will also continue to be in regular use parallelly.
“I am very proud that the Bank is releasing the design of our new banknotes which will carry a portrait of King Charles III,” said Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey.
The King’s image will appear on the front of the banknotes as well as in the see-through security window, which is included in the UK currency for added protection against fraud.
All polymer banknotes carrying a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II remain legal tender, which means they can continue to be used as normal.
In line with guidance from the UK’s Royal Household, to minimise the environmental and financial impact of this change, new notes will only be printed to replace worn out banknotes and to meet any overall increase in demand for banknotes, the Bank of England said.
