London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Mar 12, 2026

Royal rebranding: What will happen to stamps, coins, banknotes and passports?

Royal rebranding: What will happen to stamps, coins, banknotes and passports?

All 29 billion coins in circulation in the UK have the Queen's head on them. The most recent design dates from 2015, when she was 88 years old. It was the fifth coin portrait created during her reign.

The Royal Mint won't say how or when it will start issuing coins with King Charles III's head on them, but it's likely that the Queen's coins will remain in circulation for many years, and that the process to replace them will be a gradual one.

Before all British coins were updated for decimalization in 1971, it was quite normal to find multiple monarchs on your change.

While we don't know what the King's coin portrait will look like, a coin issued in 2018 by the Royal Mint to commemorate his 70th birthday gave us a hint.

And one thing that seems certain is that he will be shown facing the other way — to the left. Tradition dictates that the direction in which the monarch faces on coins must alternate for each new monarch.

Once signed off by the government, new designs will be manufactured at the Royal Mint in Llantrisant, south Wales.

The first banknote to carry a portrait of the Queen was the one pound note in 1960 The Queen has appeared on all Bank of England notes since 1960 (notes issued by Scottish and Northern Irish banks do not depict the monarch).

There are about 4.5 billion individual Bank of England notes worth about £80 billion in circulation at the moment and, as with coins, these will be gradually phased out.

All notes and coins will remain legal tender. The Bank of England will give lots of notice if that is to change.

Stamps and postboxes


Since 1967, all stamps issued by the Royal Mail have featured an embossed silhouette of the side profile of Queen Elizabeth II.

Royal Mail will now stop producing Queen Elizabeth II stamps — although they can still be used on letters and parcels — and will begin the process to create new ones.

The Royal Mail issued these commemorative stamps to mark the Prince of Wales' 70th birthday in 2018.

The new King has featured on stamps before, but Royal Mail won't yet say what the new designs with him will look like.

As well as putting the monarch on stamps, the Royal Mail puts royal cyphers on many postboxes.

More than 60% of the UK's 115,000 postboxes carry the EIIR mark of Queen Elizabeth II - E for Elizabeth and R for Regina, which means queen. In Scotland, they feature the Scottish crown.

Outside Scotland, any new postboxes will now feature the King's cypher — but as the number of new boxes installed is quite low, it could be some time before you spot one of these.

Royal seal of approval


From tomato ketchup to packets of cereal to perfume, chances are you will have seen the Royal Arms alongside the words, "By appointment to Her Majesty the Queen" on some of your groceries or other items in your home.

These are products, which have been granted a Royal Warrant, meaning that the company who makes them supplies the Royal Households on a regular basis.

A Royal Warrant label on a bottle of sauce


For the last century or so the monarch, their consort and heir have each issued their own Royal Warrants — making them grantors — and there are currently about 900 Royal Warrants held by 800 companies.

When a grantor dies, any Royal Warrants they issued become void and the company has two years to stop using the Royal Arms. (Exceptionally, warrants issued by the Queen Mother stood for five years after her death.)

The warrants Charles has issued as Prince of Wales will continue now that he is King because they go with the household, not the title.

There is an expectation that the new King will now grant his son and heir, Prince William, the ability to issue his own warrants.

Passports still valid


But it's not just money, stamps and warrants that need updating.

All British passports are issued in the name of Her Majesty and are still valid for travel, but for new passports, the wording on the inside of the front cover will be updated to His Majesty.

Some police forces in England and Wales that still feature the royal cypher of Queen Elizabeth II in the center of their helmet plates will have to make changes. Barristers and solicitors who have been appointed by the monarch to be Queen's Counsel will now be known as King's Counsel with immediate effect.

And finally, the national anthem will have its words changed from "God Save the Queen".

After Charles is officially proclaimed King in a formal ceremony, a public announcement will be made from the balcony at St James's Palace, including the call: "God Save the King".

The national anthem will then be played.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Release of Mandelson Files Raises Tensions as UK Seeks Stable Relations With Donald Trump
UK Documents Reveal Starmer Was Warned About Mandelson’s Epstein Links Before Ambassador Appointment
Nearly Five Hundred UK Mortgage Deals Withdrawn in Two Days as Market Volatility Forces Lenders to Reprice
Three Cargo Ships Hit Near Iran as Attacks Spread to Strategic Strait of Hormuz
Why British Police Repeatedly Declined to Investigate Jeffrey Epstein’s UK Links
UK Parliament Ends Hereditary Seats in House of Lords, Closing Chapter on Centuries of Aristocratic Lawmaking
EU and UK Urge Israel to Act Against Rising West Bank Settler Violence Amid Regional Tensions
US Senator John Kennedy Says Keir Starmer Should Not Be Trusted for Military Advice Amid Iran War Debate
UK High Court Rejects Attempt to Revive Terrorism Charge Against Kneecap Rapper
Revolut Secures Full UK Banking Licence After Multi-Year Regulatory Wait
Kentucky’s Bench Boost Powers Wildcats Past LSU in SEC Tournament Opener
British Couple Die After Being Pulled From Water at Australian Beach During Family Visit
Global Energy Agency Announces Record Release of 400 Million Barrels to Stabilize Oil Markets Amid Hormuz Disruption
British Airways Suspends UK Repatriation Flights as Middle East Travel Disruption Deepens
US Forces Prepare Ordnance at RAF Fairford as Strategic Bombers Deploy for Middle East Operations
Nigel Farage Faces Criticism After Saying Britain Should Stay Out of Iran War
Landmark UK Trial Begins Over Sony’s PlayStation Store Pricing
UK High Court Rejects Bid to Challenge Britain’s Chagos Islands Agreement With Mauritius
Finnish Duo Triumphs in England’s Annual Wife-Carrying Race, Winning a Barrel of Ale
How U.S. and UK National Security Strategies Are Reshaping the Global Business Landscape
Green Party Gains Momentum as Labour Shifts Toward the Political Centre
Royal Navy Destroyer HMS Dragon Sets Sail for Eastern Mediterranean as Regional Tensions Rise
UK Homebuilder Persimmon Warns Iran Conflict Could Dent Property Buyer Confidence
Roman Abramovich Signals Legal Fight if UK Seeks to Seize Chelsea Sale Funds
UK Ready to Back Emergency Oil Reserve Release as Middle East Conflict Pushes Prices Higher
Study of 40,000 Articles Sparks Debate Over Alleged Anti-Muslim Bias in UK Media
US and UK Army Chiefs Strengthen Cooperation on the Future of Armored Warfare
Britain’s Search for the Next ARM Intensifies as Startups and Investors Target the Semiconductor Frontier
Three US Strategic Bombers Arrive at RAF Fairford as Iran Conflict Intensifies
Cancer Death Rates in the UK Fall to the Lowest Level on Record
UK Government Bond Yields Retreat Slightly After Sharp Spike Triggered by Middle East Conflict
UK Chancellor Warns Middle East War Could Push Inflation Higher
UK Prime Minister Warns Iran Conflict Could Drive Up Prices and Threaten Economic Stability
Trump Declines UK Offer to Deploy Aircraft Carriers to Middle East Amid Iran Conflict
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to Return to Australia After Seven Years for Philanthropic and Business Engagements
UK Government Signals Independence From Washington as Cooper Says Britain Does Not Agree With Trump on Every Issue
UK Experts Warn AI Chatbots Are Fueling Surge in Claims of Organised ‘Satanic’ Ritual Abuse
UK Political Parties Divided Over Strategy as Iran Conflict Reshapes Foreign Policy Debate
Britain Discloses Secret Military Repair Hubs Operating Inside Ukraine
Trump Says US No Longer Needs UK Carrier Support After Delayed Offer Amid Iran Conflict
Why Britain Has Become Involved in the US-Israel Military Campaign Against Iran
UK Gas Storage Falls to Under Two Days as Iran Conflict Jolts Global Energy Markets
UK Warned to Brace for Economic Shock as Iran War Drives Global Energy Price Surge
Starmer and Trump Hold First Call After Public Dispute Over Iran Conflict
UK Dentists Returned £1.3 Billion to Government as Shift Toward Private Care Accelerates
Expert Warns UK Must Build Emergency Food Stockpiles to Prepare for Climate Shocks or War
UK Plans Charter Flight to Evacuate British Nationals from Gulf as Regional Conflict Disrupts Air Travel
Families of Zimbabwe’s Liberation Fighters Call on Britain to Help Locate Skulls Taken During Colonial War
Iran’s Ambassador Warns Britain to ‘Be Very Careful’ Over Deeper Role in Expanding Middle East War
UK Military Leadership Defends Britain’s Defensive Role in Expanding Middle East Conflict
×