The Bank of England has unveiled the design of the King Charles III banknotes. The portrait of the King will appear on existing designs of all four polymer banknotes - £5, £10, £20 and £50 - with no other changes to the existing designs, the bank said.
The King’s image will appear on the front of the banknotes, as well as in the see-through security window. The bank said the new notes were expected to enter circulation by mid-2024.
It also confirmed that all polymer banknotes carrying a portrait of HM Queen Elizabeth II remain legal tender and the public can continue to use these as normal. In line with guidance from the Royal Household, to minimise the environmental and financial impact of this change, new notes will only be printed to replace worn banknotes and to meet any overall increase in demand for banknotes, the bank said. This means that notes featuring HM Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III will therefore co-circulate.
Bank of England Governor, Andrew Bailey, said: “I am very proud that the Bank is releasing the design of our new banknotes which will carry a portrait of King Charles III. This is a significant moment, as the King is only the second monarch to feature on our banknotes. People will be able to use these new notes as they start to enter circulation in 2024.”
The current series of banknotes features the following characters in the designs: £5 – Winston Churchill, £10 – Jane Austen, £20 JMW Turner, £50 – Alan Turing. Although the note designs unveiled today will feature a new portrait of the monarch, the reverse side of each note remains unchanged. That means these notes can be checked using the same security features as existing HM Elizabeth II banknotes.
Paper banknotes are no longer legal tender and cannot be used as a means of payment. However any old series Bank of England notes can still be exchanged.
