Queen Elizabeth II reigned for more than 70 years and the majority of people have never known anyone else on the throne. Since becoming monarch in 1952, her image and cypher has been part of everyday life – emblazoned across most of the government imagery – from coins to passports.
According to a report from the Mirror, following Queen’s death and the proclamation of a new King, the UK will see lots of changes, not least to everyday items and many imageries which revolved around the Queen would need to be updated to make reference to a King being on the throne.
Changes in Commonwealth
Queen Elizabeth was the head of Commonwealth, which included 54 countries spanning Africa, Asia, America, Europe and Pacific. After her death position of Head of the Commonwealth will not automatically pass on to Queen’s successor but is likely to be chosen collectively by the Commonwealth Heads of Government. Many nations may choose to become Republic with their own head of state.
UK will be in state of mourning
There will be a statutory holiday in the UK and the same may take place in Commonwealth realms, at the discretion of their governments.
The Union Jack flag will be flown at half-mast until after the funeral in the UK and overseas although NOT the Royal Standard. Since it represents the Monarchy, which is continuous, it would be appropriate for the Royal Standard to fly at half-mast.
The London Stock Exchange will be closed on the day of the funeral.
The BBC will suspend all programming to cover the event. When George VI died in 1952, it also stopped all comedy for a set period
Cash and coins
In the UK, all cash notes and coins depict the face of the Queen – but now following her death, new coins and cash will be created with the face of the King. As the authorities had been planning for the for quite some time, the new cash will be produced and distributed into general circulation, with the old money gradually being phased out.
Stamps
UK’s Royal mail is the biggest mailing service across the country and depicts an image of the Queen. For this too, new ones will have to be created with the face of the King. The Queen’s cypher EIIR stood for Elizabeth II Regina – with Regina the Latin for Queen. Rex is the Latin for King.
The cypher across all postboxes will be replaced – any new ones made are likely to feature the cypher chosen by the new King.
Uniforms
The Queen’s cypher appears on many uniforms in the UK including those worn by police officers and the military. These uniforms will likely be updated over time with the new King’s cypher.
Passports
All the UK passports state: “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.”
Therefore new passports issued will be tweaked to reflect the male pronouns of the new King. However, it’s likely that passports will only need to be updated once they have expired.
National Anthem
British National Anthem is sung in the honour of the Queen with lyrics, God Save the Queen. It will revert to the version for a male monarch, which is God Save the King, with the pronouns within the words changed to the male version.
This version of the national anthem was last used in 1952 when George VI was on the throne.
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