Anyone who walks through London sees her profile almost everywhere: Queen Elizabeth II was on coins, banknotes and stamps. That will change in the coming years. In the future, the British will also sing the anthem in the name of the new king.
For Great Britain, the death of Queen Elizabeth II is a defining moment in the country's history. For the time being, the Queen will continue to be present in the everyday life of the British, after all, her likeness is emblazoned almost everywhere. However, that will change in the near future. A complex process that will take years.
Since ascending the throne in 1952, the British Queen has been the most famous woman in the world. Her portrait graces postage stamps, coins, and bills, and her initials adorn mailboxes, uniforms, and government plaques across the country.
A royal cipher is unique to each reigning monarch and consists of his name and title. It is usually found on government buildings, uniforms, royal or state documents, and royal objects. Now that the Queen has died and Charles is the new King, ER could be replaced by CR. The "R" in this case stands for the Latin word "Regina" ("queen"), but it could stay and simply stand for "Rex" (Latin "king").
Royal Mail mailboxes are currently marked ERII, which stands for "Elizabeth Regina II". They could now be changed to CRIII. This applies primarily to new mailboxes. The change is not a must, the British Postal Museum pointed out that old post boxes are not changed. With an estimated 100,000 mailboxes in Great Britain, that could also take a long time.
As well as the post boxes, the Royal Mail will also have to commission new stamps with Charles' profile to replace his mother's. When the stamps were last changed to feature a monarch in 1952, a series called "Wilding Issues" was issued. They show portraits of the Queen painted by Dorothy Wilding a few weeks after the death of King George VI. recorded and were used until 1971.
The currency in the UK, on the other hand, will change visually over the years. A new portrait of Charles will appear on banknotes and coins in the future. As soon as the Charles bills are issued, post offices and banks begin collecting the currency bearing the Queen's likeness via transaction. It will be a gradual process and many of the coins bearing the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II will remain in circulation for many years to come.
With Charles on the throne, the national anthem will read "God save the King" and the lyrics will be adapted: "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 by Charles' father, King George VI. sung.
