THE 70-YEAR reign of Queen Elizabeth came to an end with her death on Thursday (September 8).
Her Majesty became head of state in 1952 following the death of her father King George VI.
During her reign, her face has been featured on stamps, coins and banknotes but passports, post boxes and even military medals will now all need to change in the coming months and years.
The face of King Charles III will now adorn everything from the stamp on your letter to the five in your hand.
Here is a look at some of the things which will be affected:
Coins and notes
Coins featuring the new King will show him facing to the left despite Elizabeth II facing to the right.
It is a tradition from the 17th century to alternate the way successive monarchs are facing.
New coins and notes will need to be designed and minted or printed, but are not likely to appear in general circulation for some time.
According to the Royal Mint, an advisory committee needs to send recommendations for new coins to the Chancellor and obtain royal approval.
Designs are then chosen and ultimately approved by the Chancellor and then King Charles III.
All of the coins will remain in use until they are gradually replaced.
Stamps
King Charles III will feature on British stamps and others around the Commonwealth.
It’s thought the King may have already sat for such a profile but will again have to approve the design.
The late Queen’s first stamps were derived from a photo by Dorothy Wilding some three weeks after she acceded to the throne.
It lasted for 15 years before it was replaced in 1967 by the famous sculptured head by Arnold Machin, accompanied by the tiny cameo silhouette of the Queen.
National Anthem
“God save our gracious Queen” is now “God save our gracious King” with ‘her’ and she’ replaced in the verse with ‘him’ and ‘he’.
Passports
King Charles III will no longer need his own passport or indeed driving licence but the wording in all new passports will change at some point.
Titles
Her Majesty’s Passport Office, Armed Forces and Prison Service will all be changed to His Majesty’s.
When addressing the King, he will now be greeted with Your Majesty rather than Your Royal Highness. The monarch will then be addressed as Sir, to replace ‘Ma’am’ which was used with Queen Elizabeth II.
Cyphers
The new monarch will need a new Royal Cypher – the monogram impressed upon royal and state documents as well as traditional police helmets and postboxes – to replace ERII ‘Elizabeth Regina II’.
Any new post boxes could feature the new cypher. More than 60 per cent of Britain’s 115,000 post boxes use the cypher.
The King’s Signature
His Majesty will now sign all documents as King Charles III R – the R standing for Rex, the Latin word for King.
In court, the R to denote the Crown stands for Rex rather than Regina.
Medals
Military medals, such as operational ones and long service commendations featuring the Queen’s effigy, will be altered.
Coat of arms
The royal coat of arms, adopted at the start of Queen Victoria’s reign in 1837, will remain the same.
But just as when the Queen became monarch, it is likely that new artwork will be issued early in Charles’s reign by the College of Arms for use by public service bodies such as the civil service and the armed forces.
Flags
Charles will need a new personal flag as King. In 1960, the Queen adopted a personal flag – a gold E with the royal crown surrounded by a chaplet of roses on a blue background – to be flown on any building, ship, car or aircraft in which she was staying or travelling.
While the Royal Standard represents the Sovereign and the United Kingdom, the King’s own flag is personal to him and can be flown by no-one other than the King.
QCs to KCs
In the UK, Queen’s Counsel (QC) refers to a set of barristers and solicitors who the monarch appoints to be a part of Her Majesty’s Counsel learned in the law.
The title switches to King’s Counsel (KC) now a king reigns.
