The Bank of England has today unveiled the new portrait of King Charles III that will appear on all banknote designs by 2024.
In what marks the historic transition from Queen Elizabeth II to King Charles III on the public’s money, the Bank of England has today released images of what the new banknotes featuring The King’s portrait soon set to enter circulation will look like.
The portrait of King Charles III will appear on existing designs of all four polymer banknotes (£5, £10, £20 and £50), the Bank of England has confirmed, reports The Manc.
There will be no other changes to the existing designs of the notes.
The King’s image will appear on the front of the banknotes, as well as in cameo in the see-through security window.
Today we unveiled the design of the King Charles III £5, £10, £20 and £50 banknotes. They are expected to enter circulation by mid-2024. You can continue to use polymer banknotes with a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. Visit our website for more details. https://t.co/i5eqAhxrKYpic.twitter.com/BkYTZ0VopZ
The change of monarch portrait on the country’s money is the first time since Queen Elizabeth II first appeared on the Bank of England’s banknotes in 1960.
The new notes are expected to enter circulation by mid-2024.
All polymer banknotes with the Queen’s portrait remain legal tender, and the public can continue to use these as normal, the Bank of England explains, and, in line with guidance from Buckingham Palace, new notes will only be printed to replace worn banknotes and to meet any overall increase in demand for banknotes.
The Bank of England says this decision is to “minimise the environmental and financial impact” of this change to new notes.
Image: Bank of England
This means notes featuring Queen Elizabeth II and King Charles III will co-circulate.
The unveiling of the new notes comes after the first coins with King Charles III’s face on officially entered circulation a couple of weeks ago.
It also comes after it was announced yesterday that pubs across the UK may be able to extend their opening hours in honour of the King Charles III’s coronation in Spring 2023 – with a bank holiday weekend confirmed for 5, 6 and 7 May – with the Home Office said to be considering giving a “boost to local businesses”.
The Home Office said the change will give “an opportunity for our communities to come together and celebrate this historic moment, and support our hospitality industry”.
She's big, she's green and she's ready to ruin your figure.
A lot of you will have seen the viral ‘Bertha’ cake by Leeds born beloved sweet treat specialists Get Baked.
They recently opened another site in Manchester's Northern Quarter, where queues literally formed round the block of hungry punters wanting to get their hands on the infamous sugary treats.
And now it's going to happen all over again, as they've recently unveiled their newest flavour which is sure to go down a storm.
We’ll give you a hint: it’s a current food and drink trend that’s about as big as Bertha herself – it’s not matcha, it’s not hot honey (duh), and it’s not Guinness…
Images: Get Baked
Yes—scratch that; HELL YES!Get Baked is set to welcome Bertha’s equally beautiful twin sister, and she’s officially a pistachio girlie.
Having started out life simply as ‘Bruce’, after taking inspiration from the iconic scene from Matilda, this thing has become a phenomenon in its own right, and who doesn’t like more flavours of a good thing?
Probably one of the biggest foodie crazes going at the minute, thanks to the popularity of pistachio cream, cookies, lattes and the similar social media sensation that is the ‘Dubai Pistachio Bar' people are rather fittingly going nuts for this particular flavour of almost absolutely anything.
With that in mind, the Leeds-born bakery and dessert shop – founded by Rich Myers over in Headingley back in 2011 – have shown no hesitation in hopping on the bandwagon and creating a new twist on their own viral menu item.
Teasing the full details in a post on their Instagram this week, they wrote: “What’s big, green, and is going to destroy your life in a couple of weeks’ time? Pistachio Bertha. Strictly limited to 5,000 slices. Coming oh so soon. GB.”
In case you were wondering just how mad those with a sweet tooth could possibly go for a slice of cake, just look at the recent queues when they finally launched in Manchester city centre:
Speaking on the grand opening here on our turf and his partner Amy’s hometown, Myers said simply: “Manchester, what a launch. Thanks for much for the warm welcome. Stay baked.”
Leeds Tattoo Expo to return to the First Direct Arena for 10th anniversary
Clementine Hall
The tenth annual Leeds Tattoo Expo will showcase some of the best in tattooing both local and internationally.
If you fancy getting yourself a fancy new bit of ink, then look no further than the iconic Leeds Tattoo Expo that will be returning to the First Direct Arena this June.
Taking place on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 June 2025, over 200 tattooists and 70 traders will be flocking to the city to show off their skills.
And not only that, but there’ll also be a whole host of market traders for you to browse as well as live music to have a boogie to.
The artists will be tattooing with options for both pre-booked appointments and walk ups available throughout the weekend.
Image: Leeds Tattoo Expo
There will also be a piercer, tooth gems and a henna artist ready to adorn your body.
Alongside getting tattooed, there’s plenty to do and to see over the whole weekend; there'll be an alternative drawing class, an illustrators market with kids’ workshops provided by Art Gecko, an art fusion event on the main stage, burlesque performances and competitions, a small vintage clothing pop-up, fire breathing and break dancing demonstrations in the square outside the arena.
The annual tattoo competitions will also be taking place each evening, where tattooists showcase their work to a panel of judges, sponsored by Killer Ink!
To celebrate Leeds Tattoo Expo's tenth anniversary, they'll be hosting a Pre-Party at Belgrave Music Hall on Thursday 5 June which is a completely free entry event complete with live music and free pizza.
You can find out more about the event and book your tickets here via the First Direct Arena's website.
Emily Sergeant -
20th December 2022 
