Flags, coins, banknotes: what is expected to change after the death of Queen Elizabeth
The Queen's portrait appears on stamps, coins and bills.
Her initials appear on mailboxes, uniforms and government documents.
All of these will now change at a high cost and in a process that will last several years
Tali Goldstein
13/09/2022
Tuesday, September 13, 2022, 4:59 p.m. Updated: 5:23 p.m.
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The death of Queen Elizabeth II marks the end of the Second Elizabethan era and the beginning of the Carolian era, named after King Charles III.
As one era ends and another begins, many changes are made to mark it, including changes to items in everyday use that bear the Queen's portrait.
The Queen's portrait appears on stamps, coins and bills.
Its initials appear on mailboxes, uniforms and government signage.
Now all these things will change at a very high cost in a process that will take several years.
The Carolian Age
The new king is King Charles III and his rise to power heralds the beginning of the Carolian era - as in the time of King Charles I who reigned in 1649-1625.
Caroliani comes from the Latin word for "Charles", it is "Carolus".
stamps
The Royal Mail will change the stamps, and the portrait of King Charles III will appear on the new stamps.
Royal Mail mailboxes are engraved with the royal initials ERII (Elizabeth Regina).
These will now need to be changed to CRII.
When mailboxes are made, they are given the mark of the reigning monarch at the time.
It is estimated that there are more than 100,000 post boxes in the UK, so the process will take a long time to replace them all.
According to the Postal Museum, the new mailboxes will be added to the old ones - which will remain unchanged.
The portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on the stamps (photo: official website, Wikipedia)
ER acronym (photo: official website, Wikipedia)
The new king will also need a new royal monogram to be stamped on royal and government documents.
The Queen's monogram, ERII, appears on police helmets.
Of money
According to the "Guardian", there are 4.5 billion banknotes in circulation with the portrait of the Queen on them, with a total value of 80 billion pounds. It will take about two years to replace them. The portrait of the Queen also appears on silver notes in Canada, on coins in New Zealand and on all banknotes issued on by the Central Bank of the Eastern Caribbean, as well as other parts of the Commonwealth of Nations.
1 pound coin (photo: official website, Wikipedia)
Coins featuring the new king will show him facing left, while the relief of Elizabeth II's face faces right.
Changing the direction of the reliefs on the coins is a tradition since the 17th century.
Banknotes of the Queen (photo: official website, Wikipedia)
The coins and banknotes bearing the portrait of the Queen will be issued until the end of the year at least, after which the new portrait of the King should enter circulation.
The withdrawal from circulation of the old coins and notes will be gradual, and many coins with the portrait of Elizabeth II will remain in circulation for years.
Passports
The wording in new passports will change.
Her Majesty's Passport Office will be renamed Her Majesty's Passport Office.
A similar change will also apply to Her Majesty's Prison Service and Her Majesty's Armed Forces.
Old passports that do not include the new wording will not have to be changed until they expire and will have to be renewed.
The new passports will be issued gradually.
the national anthem
The words of the national anthem were changed to "God will save our nerdy king" instead of "our queen".
This is a tradition and not a law in the country.
The male version was last used during the reign of King George VI, Elizabeth's father.
The Royal Miracle of the United Kingdom
From the flags that fly on top of buildings and on the roofs of police stations across the UK to those used by the military, thousands of flags bearing the initials EIIR will have to be replaced.
Military divisions use flags with the Queen's monogram woven into them with gold threads;
The flags of the fire brigade include the initials of the Queen, and countries where the Queen is the head of state, such as Australia, Canada and New Zealand, use flags called "E flags" - flags that are only used when the Queen is visiting.
The royal miracle (photo: official website, Wikipedia)
The standard royal flag - which flies over the palace when the Queen is in it - may also undergo a change.
In the Queen's flag one quarter represents Scotland (a lion), one quarter Northern Ireland (a harp) and two quarters England (three lions), but Wales is not represented.
It is possible that the new king will also include Wales in the flag.
The symbol of the United Kingdom
The coat of arms of the United Kingdom is also called the official coat of arms of the British monarch.
Versions of the aristocracy shield are used by members of the British royal family and by the British government as the fiduciary arm of the country's government.
In Scotland, the Queen holds a different version of a peerage.
Any change to the symbol will be expensive, but may not be necessary.
Only in the event that King Charles decides to add representation to Wales on the shield, in accordance with the changes in the flag, will the coat of arms also change.
There is no representation for Wales (photo: official website, Wikipedia)
Similar to the flag, the royal aristocracy now represents the three nations that make up the United Kingdom: England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
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