King Charles banknotes: new Bank of England notes released, are old notes legal tender - where to get them?

Starting on Wednesday (5 June), the Bank of England will issue banknotes featuring the King’s portrait for the first time, marking a historic change of sovereign on its notes.

The new notes, depicting King Charles III, will circulate alongside those with Queen Elizabeth II's portrait, appearing on all four denominations: £5, £10, £20, and £50, with no other design changes.

Due to the large number of notes in circulation - over 4.6 billion, worth about £82 billion - the new notes will be introduced gradually.

Following Royal Household guidelines, the new notes will only replace worn-out ones and meet any increase in demand, minimising environmental and financial impact.

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said: “We’re very pleased to be issuing the new King Charles banknotes. This is a historic moment, as it’s the first time we’ve changed the sovereign on our notes.

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In April, Charles was presented with the first banknotes bearing his portrait. He praised them as “very well designed” and expressed his surprise at being only the second monarch to feature.

Although the Bank of England started to produce banknotes in the 17th century, Charles’s mother, Queen Elizabeth II, was the first British sovereign to be given the honour in 1960 on a £1 paper note.

Where can I get the new banknotes?

People will be able to snap up the new-look currency at selected Post Office branches. The chosen Post Offices will initially have £5, £10 and £20 denominations of the new banknotes.

Thousands of Post Offices will receive the new-look currency over the coming days and weeks.

Here are the locations and postcodes for the Post Office branches where the notes will be available first on launch day, with a gradual rollout to others in the coming weeks:

• Piccadilly Plaza (Manchester), M2 1BB
• Sunderland City, SR1 1RR
• Portsmouth, PO1 1AB
• Birmingham, B2 4AA
• The City of London, EC2M 5TE
• Moorgate, EC2M 5TE
• Broadway, SW1H 0AX
• Great Massingham, PE31 6HP
• Tetbury, GL8 8DB
• Minchinhampton, GL6 9BN
• Windsor, SL4 1AA
• Houndsditch, E1 7BS
• Woodstock, OX20 1SP
• Poundbury, DT1 3AZ

The Bank of England has put temporary facilities in place to allow people to obtain a limited amount of the King Charles III banknotes.

It has set up a postal exchange service, running from 5 to 30 June, up to a limit of £300 per customer. An application form and further details are on the Bank of England’s website.

The Bank of England counter at Threadneedle Street in central London will also be issuing new notes featuring the King from 5 to 11 June and the same limit of £300 per customer applies.

While banknotes featuring Queen Elizabeth II remain legal tender and there is no need to exchange them, people who are interested to see the new banknotes can now get their hands on them.