The Bank of England announced on Wednesday, February 21, 2024, that banknotes carrying the portrait of King Charles III will be issued for the first time on June 5, 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.

The new King Charles III banknotes will be printed on both the Safeguard® polymer substrate (produced by De La Rue) and the Guardian™ polymer substrate (produced by CCL Secure). It has not been announced which denominations and which serial number ranges will be printed on which substrate, and this will most likely not be announced. This was not disclosed for the Queen Elizabeth II polymer banknotes—it was up to collectors to figure this out.

 

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.

 

The bank's approach is in line with guidance from the Royal Household, to minimize the environmental and financial impact of this change. This means the public will begin to see the new King Charles III notes very gradually. And as with all other polymer banknotes issued by the Bank of England, the new notes will be recycled once they reach their end-of-life; which is one of the reasons why polymer is the most sustainable substrate for banknotes. Other proven benefits include an increased resistance to counterfeiting and heightened durability in the cash cycle.

 

Members of the public will be able to exchange a limited quantity of current or old series notes for new King Charles III notes through the Bank of England, for a short time beginning June 5, 2024.

 

A series of charity auctions of low-serial-numbered notes will be held during 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.