King Charles instead of the Queen: Even long after her death, Queen Elizabeth’s portrait still appears on British pound notes. That is now changing – albeit very slowly.
Almost 21 months after King Charles III took office, pound notes bearing the image of the British monarch are coming into circulation for the first time. The new banknotes, worth 5, 10, 20 and 50 pounds (up to 58.74 euros), are being distributed from today, the rest of the design remains unchanged.
Central bank chief Andrew Bailey spoke of a historic moment. Banknotes bearing the portrait of Charles’ mother Queen Elizabeth II, who died on September 8, 2022, remain valid. The British central bank has only been showing the head of state on its banknotes since 1960. Charles is therefore only the second monarch in the country to receive this honor.
King Charles pays attention to sustainability
Coins with Charles’s profile have been around for much longer, since December 2022. But it will probably be a while before most people in the United Kingdom have one of the new notes in their hands. The royal family has specified that the banknotes will only be printed to replace worn-out notes or to meet a possible increase in demand. The aim is to keep the environmental and financial impact of the change as low as possible.
British Royalty
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In everyday use, cash is becoming increasingly less important in both the UK and Germany, and the pandemic in particular has given a huge boost to cashless forms of payment. In London in particular, cash is no longer accepted at all in some places.
Nevertheless, cash is still important to many people, as central bank chief Bailey stressed. Data from the service provider Post Office showed a significant increase in cash transactions in its branches in April. Cash deposits and withdrawals reached a record high of 3.48 billion pounds. In total, 4.6 billion Bank of England banknotes with a total value of around 82 billion pounds are in circulation.
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
