The Bank of England announced on Sept. 27 that it will reveal images of updated bank notes featuring a portrait of King Charles III by the end of this year. They are expected to enter circulation by mid-2024.

The king’s portrait will appear on the face of the existing designs of all four polymer bank notes: the £5 note with a portrait of Winston Churchill on the back, the £10 note with Jane Austen on the back, the £20 note depicting J.M.W. Turner on the back, and the £50 note featuring Alan Turing on the back. Charles III’s portrait will also appear in cameo in the see-through security window. Besides that, they will be a continuation of the current polymer series, and no additional changes to the bank note designs will be made.

The current notes with the queen’s portrait will not be demonetized. The bank’s statement read “In line with guidance from the Royal Household to minimize the environmental and financial impact of the change of monarch, existing stocks of notes featuring HM Queen Elizabeth II will continue to be issued into circulation. New notes will only be printed to replace worn banknotes and to meet any overall increase in demand for banknotes.”

The current bank notes will continue to be legal tender and will only be removed from circulation when they become worn or damaged. They will co-circulate with those featuring Charles III. Given that the Bank of England has spent years touting the advantages of polymer over paper, including its longevity, this is no surprise.

The bank also used its statement to remind the public that as of Sept. 30 the legal tender status of paper £20 and £50 notes would be withdrawn.

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