AFTER a long 70-year reign as monarch, many Britons and people around the world have grown accustomed to seeing the Queen’s image on everyday items such as banknotes, coins, and stamps.
However, following her death, they will have to be changed to feature portraits of the new King, Charles III. These changes will not go into effect immediately but will gradually take place.
The changes to British currency will likely take years to come into effect as new coins and notes with the King’s image are put into circulation and the older ones removed from use. The Queen’s coins, for instance, did not appear until 1953, a year after her ascension to the throne.
The new coins and notes will be designed and minted by The Royal Mint upon which an advisory committee will send recommendations to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to obtain the royal approval. Selected designs and final choices will be approved by the Chancellor and the King. On coins, the Queen faces to the right but due to a 17th century tradition, new ones will show the King facing to the left.
Stamps depicting the likeness of the Queen will also be phased out gradually with new ones featuring the King to be put in use. King Charles III will have to approve the finals designs and may have already sat for portraits and sculptures.
However, Royal Mail postboxes with the Queen's ER cypher (for 'Elizabeth Regina', the Latin for Queen) are unlikely to be removed. In fact, there are some emblazoned with the Queen's father King George VI's GR ('George Rex', Latin for King) cypher which can still be found today. But any new postboxes could feature the new King's emblem.
Meanwhile, the words to the National Anthem will be immediately changed to 'God save our gracious King'.
Other changes include military medals that bear the Queen's effigy will have to be altered, while police and military uniforms featuring the Queen's cypher will be updated over time with the new King's cypher, the monogram impressed on royal and state documents.
New UK passports will be issued with the King's name and the words may change. Her Majesty's Passport Office will be updated to His Majesty's Passport Office, as is the case with HM Armed Forces and HM Prison Service.
Charles's signature will see a change too, where before, it was simply 'Charles', but now it will be followed by an additional R for Rex at the end. He will also need a new personal flag as King.
The Queen adopted a personal flag in 1960, which contains a gold E with the royal crown surrounded by a chaplet of roses on a blue background, to be flown on any building, ship, automobile, or aircraft in which she was staying or travelling. The flag was often used when she visited Commonwealth countries. While the Royal Standard represents the Sovereign and the United Kingdom, the Queen's own flag was personal to her alone.
Meanwhile, the royal coat of arms, adopted at the start of Queen Victoria's reign in 1837 will remain the same and not undergo any changes. But just as when the Queen became monarch, it is likely that new artwork will be issued early in Charles's reign by the College of Arms for use by public service bodies such as the civil service and the armed forces.
These updates and changes may be small and difficult to spot, but it presents an opportunity to replace old images, which have been in use for many decades, with newer, possibly more stylised versions. The Duke of Cambridge will be given an updated coat of arms when he is made the Prince of Wales – a title which he does not inherit automatically. – The Vibes, September 9, 2022
