The Bank of England reassured consumers that cash and coins featuring the Queen will continue to be legal tender following the accession of King Charles III.
There are some 4.5bn sterling notes in circulation featuring the Queen’s face on them, worth a combined £80bn.
An operation to replace them with notes bearing the image of the new King is now under way, and it is expected it will take several years.
Here’s what you need to know.
The process of replacing the 4.5bn sterling notes currently in circulation featuring the Queen’s image is likely to take several years to complete. It took the Bank of England 16 months to replace old-style £50 notes with new synthetic currency.
Cash and coins featuring portraits of the Queen will continue to be legal tender for the time being. A further announcement regarding UK currency is expected now the period of national mourning has come to a close following the state funeral.
While notes and coins featuring the Queen show her facing left to right, new money will depict King Charles facing from right to the left – part of a tradition from the 17th century to alternate which way successive monarchs face on coins.
New designs will eventually appear in new tender, following recommendations from the Royal Mint advisory committee having been approved by the Chancellor.
After the Queen’s ascension to the throne, new coins bearing her image did not appear for a year.
The Queen’s head also appears on notes and coins in Canada, New Zealand and currency issued by the Eastern Caribbean central bank, as well as across other parts of the Commonwealth.
The Queen’s portrait on coins changed five times during her 70-year reign.
The latest portrait, designed by Royal Mint engraver Jody Clark in 2015, shows The Queen with the Royal Diamond Diadem Crown, which she wore for her Coronation in 1953.
The first Bank of England note to feature the Queen’s portrait was the £1 note issued in 1960. It was followed by a 10-shilling note in 1961.
The 1990 £5 note was the first of a new series. It featured a new, more mature portrait of the Queen who was 64 when it was first issued.
This likeness, by designer Roger Withington, has been used on all Bank of England notes since.
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