The Bank of England has unveiled the new look of bank notes featuring an image of King Charles, which are likely to come into circulation from mid-2024. Announcing the design for the first time before the coronation of the King in May, England's central bank said the new image would appear on existing designs of £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes which are in circulation.
The King's portrait will appear on the front of the bank note and in the see-through security window, which are made from polymer plastic, The Guardian reported.
The existing notes, with the image of Queen Elizabeth, will also continue to be legal tender and will be accepted in shops after the new notes come into circulation.
The central bank has made the changes as per the guidance from the royal household to minimise the environmental and financial impact. As a result, the bank has only printed new notes to replace worn out ones and to meet the increase in demand for the currency.
At present, there are around 4.5 billion bank notes in circulation worth about £80 billion, BBC reported.
Earlier this month, an estimated 4.9 million of 50 pence coins bearing the image of King Charles III entered circulation through post offices across the country.
King Charles III will be the second monarch after his late mother in British history to feature on a bank note. The image of Queen Elizabeth first started appearing on bank notes in 1960 even though coins have featured the monarch for centuries. Bank notes issued by Scottish and Northern Irish banks do not bear the image of the monarch. However, the image of Queen Elizabeth features on some $20 bank notes in Canada, and in coins of New Zealand and some other Commonwealth nations.
