Money, stamps and the national anthem: What changes with the Queen’s death – and when?

The Queen’s death marks a monumental and disruptive moment in the history of the nation.

Over the course of her 70-year reign, the monarch became the most famous woman in the world.

Her portrait is all over stamps, coins and notes, and her initials adorn postboxes, uniforms and government signage all across the country.

Changing all this will be a huge and costly task, one likely to take several years if not decades, and indeed, one that may never be completed.

Royal cypher

A royal cypher is unique to each reigning monarch and consists of their name and title.

It usually appears on government buildings, uniforms, royal or state documents and royal-affiliated items.

Now that the Queen has died, ER could be swapped for CR.

The second letter may not change because the R can stand for either Rex or Regina, the Latin for King and Queen.

However, the next royal cypher is not confirmed yet.

Postboxes

Royal Mail postboxes are marked with ERII, which stands for Elizabeth Regina II.

They could now change to CRIII.

When postboxes are made, they are given the mark of the monarch ruling at the time, and with more than 100,000 estimated to be dotted around Britain, it could take a long time to replace them all.

The Postal Museum notes that this will only happen when new postal boxes are added – old ones will not change.

Money

According to the Coin Expert, an affiliate of the Royal Mint, a new portrait of Charles will come into circulation to be portrayed on the currency.

The coins and notes that bear the Queen’s portrait will continue to be issued for the remainder of the year or perhaps longer, after which the new portrait will come into circulation.

Coins and notes bearing the Queen will not be recalled; instead, the process will be a gradual one and many coins marked with her portrait will remain in circulation for many years.

Banks and post offices will issue the newly designed coins and notes and collect the older versions.

According to royal.uk, the official website of the Royal Family, from the time of Charles II onwards, a tradition developed of monarchs being represented on the coinage facing in the opposite direction to their predecessor.

The exception to this was in the brief reign of Edward VIII. He liked portraits of himself facing to the left, even though, according to tradition, he should have faced to the right. Designs for proposed coins for his reign show Edward VIII facing to the left.

The tradition was restored in the reign of George VI, with his portrait facing left as if Edward VIII had faced right.

Stamps

As well as postboxes, the Royal Mail will commission new stamps bearing the King’s profile to replace that of his mother.

When stamps were last changed with a monarch in 1952, a series called the Wilding Issues were released.

They featured portraits taken by Dorothy Wilding within a couple of weeks of King George’s death, and were used up until 1971.

National anthem

With King Charles on the throne, the words to the national anthem will be changed to God Save The King.

It will go as follows:

God save our gracious King!
Long live our noble King!
God save the King!
Send him victorious,
Happy and glorious,
Long to reign over us,
God save the King.

This version was last used when the Queen’s father George VI was on the throne.

Passports

Passports currently state: “Her Britannic Majesty’s Secretary of State requests and requires in the name of Her Majesty all those whom it may concern to allow the bearer to pass freely without let or hindrance and to afford the bearer such assistance and protection as may be necessary.”

It is expected this will be changed to the male pronoun for any new passports.

Any older passports that do not have the new phrasing would be unaffected and not forced to change until they are renewed.

Like currency, the new passports will be phased in over time.

Queen’s Counsel

The country’s leading barristers, previously known as Queen’s Counsel, have become King’s Counsel.

The Bar Council, which represents barristers, said the change was immediate.

Barristers of that standing will now use the initials KC after their name, rather than QC.