Queen Elizabeth II has sadly passed away after being the nation's monarch for more than 70 years, and many things are now going to change.
Yesterday, 8 September 2022, the UK and the world received devastating news of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's death.
Her death has jolted the nation, after 70 years on the throne the majority of us do not remember a time without her as our monarch.
Her face is inscribed on a number of items around the country, and as we transition into having a new King, Charles III, many things will have to change.
Here's a few of the things we can expect to change going forward.
The National Anthem
A change that will be implemented immediately is the change in the national anthem. It was 'God Save the Queen' but it will now revert to 'God Save the King', this was last sang under the Queen's father and predecessor, King George VI.
Stamps
Image: Unsplash
Stamps across the UK will be replaced with new stamps that have the face of King Charles III on them. The old stamps with Queen Elizabeth II on them will slowly be phased out of use.
Money
All notes and coins in the UK carry the image of the Queen on them. From now on, all new money printed or coins minted will contain the image of the new monarch.
Image: Unsplash
The old money will be slowly phased out to a point where eventually (and very far in the future), the old money will cease to be legal tender.
Other nations where the Queen is their head of state, such as Canada, Australia and New Zealand will also have to phase out their money.
Passports
Image: Unsplash
All passports issued in the UK for the past 70 years have contained this message "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.”
This will now be updated with the King's pronouns however you will not have to update your passport until it expires.
Postboxes
Image: Unsplash
Every postbox in the UK built during the Queen's reign carries her royal cypher. This is EIIR, or Elizabeth II Regina, which is Latin for Queen.
All postboxes built under King Charles III reign will now carry a new cypher which is yet to be announced.
Uniforms
The Queen's military cypher is imprinted on lots of uniforms across the UK, including those worn by the armed forces and police.
This will be replaced by the King's military cypher which is yet to be announced.
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.
Clementine Hall -
9th September 2022 
