Will stamps still work after death of the Queen? Will King Charles face replace her on British stamps?

The death of the Queen will result in major changes across the country in the coming weeks, months and years.

Over time the face on our bank notes and coins will change to Kind Charles III.

The lyrics to the national anthem will default back to God Save Our King following the change of monarch.

Queen Elizabeth II has also been the face of stamps for decades - and as a result of her death and change of monarch, British stamps will soon change.

The Queen died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland at the age of 96 on Thursday (8 September).

How will stamps change?

The new King will at some stage feature on British stamps, and others around the Commonwealth.

He may have already sat for such sculptures or portraits, and he will again have to approve the designs.

For her first stamps as monarch, the Queen was photographed by Dorothy Wilding three weeks after acceding to the throne and again around two months later, finally approving the image in May 1952.

This portrait from 1952 was replaced in 1967 by the famous sculptured head by Arnold Machin, accompanied by the tiny cameo silhouette of the Queen.

Other Commonwealth nations which use the face of the monarch on stamps will also change them to King Charles III’s profile in the future.

Are current stamps still valid?

Stamps bearing the image of the Queen will remain valid following her death, Royal Mail has announced.

Special stamps already announced will still be issued, although there may be changes to when they are launched.

A Royal Mail statement said: “Following the passing of HM Queen Elizabeth II, Royal Mail has confirmed that stamps bearing the image of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II remain valid for use.

“These include definitive stamps – regular ‘everyday’ stamps – and special stamps.

“As previously announced, following the introduction of barcodes to everyday stamps, these stamps remain valid until the end of January 2023.

“All special stamps that have already been announced will be issued, although the launch dates of some may change.

“In line with past practice. following the death of a monarch all existing post boxes will remain unchanged.

“Post boxes already in production or being prepared for installation will also retain the insignia of Queen Elizabeth II.”

Will postboxes change?

Postboxes currently feature Elizabeth II’s cypher.

Any new postboxes could feature the new King’s cypher.

At the start of the Queen’s reign in 1952, there were objections in Scotland to her being styled Elizabeth II because the Tudor queen Elizabeth I was never a queen of Scotland.

A Post Office pillar box in Edinburgh bearing the ERII cypher was defaced and later blown up.

Its replacement was left blank.

What is a royal cypher?

The new monarch will need a new Royal Cypher – the monogram impressed upon royal and state documents.

The Queen’s ERII features on traditional police helmets and postboxes.

While English queens use the St Edward’s crown, or a variant of it, kings traditionally use the more rounded Tudor crown.

Charles’ signature will also change now he is the King.

Before it was simply “Charles”. Now it will be the name he has taken as King with an additional R for Rex – Latin for King – at the end.

In criminal court cases, the R to denote the Crown now stands for Rex rather Regina (the Queen).

Will the coat of arms change?

The royal coat of arms, adopted at the start of Queen Victoria’s reign in 1837, will remain the same.

But just as when the Queen became monarch, it is likely that new artwork will be issued early in Charles’s reign by the College of Arms for use by public service bodies such as the civil service and the armed forces.

The “very light rebranding” will be hard to spot, but it signifies the opportunity to replace old images, which have been in use for many decades, with newer differently stylised ones.