The death of Queen Elizabeth II means everyday items taken for granted must now be changed to reflect the new sovereign, King Charles III. The scale of the changes is monumental and will be on a scale never experienced before. Money (notes and coins) A new portrait of King Charles III will not feature on new bank notes until 2023 at the earliest, according to the Royal Mint. Queen Elizabeth II’s portrait will continue to feature on new bank notes […]

The nation’s new monarch King Charles III has been formally declared head of state during a historic ceremony televised for the first time. Charles’s role as King and the name he will use was confirmed during a meeting of the Accession Council attended by privy councillors at St James’s Palace in London. Following tradition, the new King was missing from proceedings and did not witness senior figures from national life including the Queen, the new Prince of Wales and the […]

Here is the day-by-day account of what is expected to happen next, leading up to the Queen’s funeral in around 11 days’ time. Day of Death Thursday would traditionally have been D-Day or D+0 in the plans for the aftermath of the Queen’s death, codenamed London Bridge. But the announcement came late in the day – at around 6.30pm on Thursday September 8 – meaning plans have been shifted a day to allow the complex arrangements to be put in […]

The Queen was the longest reigning monarch in British history, heralded for her unparalleled devotion to royal duty during more than 70 years on the throne. At the centre of national life, Elizabeth II was head of state, head of the armed forces, head of the Commonwealth, and supreme governor of the Church of England. Her knowledge and professionalism were unprecedented and her reign as a constitutional monarch saw more than a dozen prime ministers. The Queen celebrated her Silver, […]