Currency Notes to Stamps: Queen’s Death Will Change Everything
Following Queen Elizabeth II's demise a lot of mandatory changes would be made, including the portraits on the currency notes.
Following Queen Elizabeth II's demise, many expenses need to be undergone to effect changes that are a must. Since taking over the crown in 1952, the Queen has become the most famous person in the world.
Her portraits are all over the place, from stamps, coins, and notes, to name a few. Her signatures are placed on post boxes and government signages around the nation. Gradually removing all these and replacing them with that of King Charles III would take a very long time, with experts saying several years or decades. Some might not even be replaced at all or might take a lifetime. A Royal Cypher is a seal or code unique to each monarch and placed in all government monuments and buildings. Now with the tenure of King Charles III, all these need to be changed. The "E" in the Royal Cypher needs to be replaced by a "C" (Charles), but the "R" remains as R stands for Regina (Queen) or Rex (King) in Latin.
POSTBOXES
The current post boxes in Britain are marked with ERII (Elizabeth Regina II), and the change that needs to be made will be CRIII (Charles Rex III). There are currently approximately 100,000 post boxes in Britain, and it could take years to replace them. According to the postal department in Britain, the old ones will continue till they are gradually replaced. The old ones will continue to have the ERII inscription until new post boxes replace them. The new ones would be manufactured with the CRIII inscription and replace the old ones as and when required.
COINS & NOTES
The replacement will also be gradual in the coin and currency department, with the current lot replaced with new replacements. Charles' portrait would adorn the new notes when they were being printed. However, the old portrait of the Queen will continue for the remainder of the year and beyond. The change will be gradual than all of a sudden. As for the coins, since the reign of King Charles II, it has been tradition to have new monarchs' photos face opposite directions of their predecessors. So King Charles III would be facing the left, as opposed to his mother Elizabeth's coins, whose pictures face the right.
STAMPS
The plan to print new stamps will come about when a portrait of King Charles is decided upon to replace those of his mother. A photographer Dorothy Wilding took the new portraits of the Queen in 1952 to replace that of King George VI, and those portraits were in use till 1971.
NATIONAL ANTHEM
The national anthem will bear the old version that was sung during the reign of King George VI. The words "queen" will be replaced by "king," and the "her" will be replaced by "him."
PASSPORTS
The statements made in the passports alluding to "Her" Majesty would be replaced by "His" Majesty, thereby changing the pronouns. The passports which go for renewal alone would be replaced with the new "his," and new passports will be issued with the required change. There is no forced change, and it would follow the same procedure decided for the currency and coins. Other nations’ currencies portraying the Queen’s image, from Australian, Canadian and Belizean (Belize) dollars, also will be updated. However, Canada and New Zealand have said that it will be several years before they introduce coins and notes featuring King Charles III, and older ones with Queen’s face will be used until stocks are exhausted
