News release
Banknotes carrying a portrait of King Charles III will be issued for the first time on 5 June 2024. The portrait of the King will appear on existing designs of all four banknotes (£5, £10, £20 and £50), with no other changes to the existing designs.
Polymer banknotes that feature the portrait of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will remain legal tender, and will co-circulate alongside King Charles III notes. The new banknotes will only be printed to replace those that are worn, and to meet any overall increase in demand for banknotes.
Our approach is in line with guidance from the Royal Household, to minimise the environmental and financial impact of this change. This means the public will begin to see the new King Charles III notes very gradually.
Note exchanges
Members of the public will also be able to exchange a limited value of current or old series notes for new King Charles III notes, through the Bank of England, for a short time from the 5 June 2024 issuance date. Further details will be provided closer to the time.
Auction of low serial notes
A series of charity auctions of low-serial numbered notes will be held over the summer at Spink & Son. In addition to the auctions, members of the public will be able to enter a ballot to purchase a set of notes. The money raised will be donated to charity. More details will be made available on the Spink & Son website.
Notes to editors
- Images of the King Charles III banknotes were unveiled on 20 December 2022.
- Images of all Bank of England banknotes can be found on the Bank’s Flickr site. See an information video about our King Charles III notes.
- The current series of banknotes (series G) features the following characters in the designs: £5 – Winston Churchill, £10 – Jane Austen, £20 JMW Turner, £50 – Alan Turing.
- The King’s image will appear on the front of the banknotes, as well as in cameo in the see-through security window.
- Although the notes that enter circulation on 5 June 2024 will feature a new portrait of the monarch, the reverse side of each note remains unchanged.
- The new notes can be checked using the same security features as existing
HM Elizabeth II banknotes. More information on the specific designs and security features of these can be found at the following links: £5, £10, £20, £50. - Members of the public will be able to exchange Queen Elizabeth II banknotes for
King Charles III banknotes through the Bank of England. Certain restrictions will apply, and there will be more information on the Exchanging old banknotes page in due course. - See images of current polymer notes and withdrawn paper banknotes.