How King Charles’ Britain will be different to Queen Elizabeth’s: fresh banknotes and a new national anthem, but will he keep Trooping the Colour and the Christmas Day broadcast?

Sep 13 , 2022

Queen Elizabeth II has died, passing on her crown to her son King Charles III who now has to decide how much to change in the royal family’s relationship with Britain. Photos: AP, TNS

Prince Philip called the family ‘a firm’ which Charles may decide to shrink to save the taxpayers of Britain some money, though his wife Camilla will become queen consort

He could change Buckingham Palace traditions such as the Christmas Day broadcast or the Trooping the Colour ceremony to mark the monarch’s second, official birthday

When Queen Elizabeth II died peacefully at Balmoral on September 8, it signalled that life in the UK will never be the same again for the vast majority of residents, who have grown up knowing only one monarch.

British banknotes and coins, the national anthem and the line of succession to the throne are among the most notable major changes in life, but what else will change now that the beloved queen is gone?

King Charles III succeeds to the throne

Britain’s King Charles III addresses both Houses of Parliament at Westminster on September 12, following the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth on September 8. Photo: AFP

Now that King Charles has succeeded to the throne, everyone in the line of succession has moved up a place. The royals most affected by this shift are the new monarch himself, of course, and his son Prince William, who is now first in line to the throne.

“Philip called it a firm – but it’s not a business,” royal historian Marlene Koenig said, talking about the queen’s husband, the late Prince Philip. “The only people who really matter in a monarchy are the sovereign and the heir to the throne. There’s no constitutional role for anyone else within the royal family.”

A new national holiday

The Crown of Scotland sits atop the coffin of Queen Elizabeth at St Giles’ Cathedral, Edinburgh on September 12. Photo: PA via AP

The UK began a 10-day period of national mourning on September 9, King Charles announced.

The stock market, stores and banks will close at certain times during this period, with the funeral on September 19 becoming a formal national holiday.

The queen’s portrait will be replaced on British money

As the United Kingdom’s reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth has been depicted on British banknotes and coins for decades, but she has also featured on currencies in dozens of other places around the world, many of them former British colonies. Photo: AP

British coins and banknotes, which have the queen’s portrait on them, will be replaced by new versions bearing a portrait of the new monarch, King Charles. However, the process of replacing the portrait could take a number of years due to the large number of banknotes currently in circulation, according to The Coin Expert. While the queen succeeded her father King George VI in 1952, she didn’t appear on a Bank of England note until 1960, according to the Bank of England.

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