On December 20th, the Bank of England officially unveiled the design of the faces of the bank notes featuring King Charles III for the first time. Appearing on four denominations, £5, £10, £20, and £50, the backs will stay the same as those notes that featured the late Queen Elizabeth II.
King Charles III’s image will be a large facing portrait on the face of the notes and will be expected to enter circulation by mid-2024. However, they will only be printed to replace older notes that are no longer able to be used. Those notes featuring Queen Elizabeth II will not be withdrawn or demonetized and will remain in circulation alongside her son’s. The Bank of England notes that one of the reasons for this is to “minimize the environmental and financial impact of the change that comes in many areas when a new monarch ascends to the throne.”
The image of His Majesty King Charles III was based on a photo owned by the royal household from 2013. It was finalized and approved by the King himself. Other than the portrait itself, no other changes were made to the notes.
Source: Coin World