DStv Channel 403 Saturday, 30 November 2024

King Charles's reign rings in the changes

The first £5 coronation coin to be struck was presented to King Charles III at Windsor Castle
POOL/AFP | Jonathan Brady

LONDON - From the national anthem to coins, stamps, prisons and warships, many everyday aspects of life in Britain have changed between the accession of King Charles III and his coronation on Saturday.

The change in monarch triggered a wave of changes throughout Britain and the other Commonwealth realms where he is also head of state.

Gradually, Charles will make his mark on banknotes, passports, postboxes and theatres, with some changes timed for the coronation.

- National anthem -

Britain's national anthem is now "God Save the King", with male-version lyrics that had not been sung since 1952 -- catching many people out.

Welsh mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins recorded the first version of the new national anthem 'God Save the King'
AFP or licensors
AFP | Leon NEAL

It is also a national anthem in New Zealand and the royal anthem in Australia and Canada.

The new version was officially sung for the first time at a memorial service for Queen Elizabeth II on September 9, 2022, the day after her death. Many were visibly checking the lyrics.

Opera singer Katherine Jenkins made the first recording. The Welsh mezzo-soprano was recording in a rural church on September 9 when the BBC got in touch. It was broadcast that afternoon.

"We prayed for King Charles III and then I sang it," she said. "It was really, really emotional."

Jenkins said she "really had to think about" the new words, "singing it with a sense of looking forwards and continuity".

- Passports -

The first British passports in Charles's name will be issued from mid-2023. Those in Elizabeth's name remain valid until expiry, meaning some will be used until 2033.

Australia has a stockpile of more than a million pre-printed passports issued in Queen Elizabeth's name
AFP | Patrick T. FALLON

All passports therefore currently still read: "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."

Similar text appears inside Australian, Canadian and New Zealand passports.

More than a million Australian passports printed before Elizabeth's death will be used up before the revised text comes in.

- Coins and banknotes -

The first coins bearing the king's head entered circulation in Britain in December. He approved the portrait by British sculptor Martin Jennings.

The Royal Mint's first coin bearing the effigy of King Charles III featured a design on the reverse that originally appeared on the 1953 Coronation Crown, struck to commemorate Queen Elizabeth II's coronation
Royal Mint/AFP | TOM HARRISON

The Royal Mint released 4.9 million 50-pence coins which celebrate the life of Queen Elizabeth on the reverse.

Charles is depicted facing left, as per tradition looking the opposite way to his predecessor.

A second 50p coin celebrates the coronation, featuring Westminster Abbey and Charles wearing a crown, while a special £5 coin depicts the coronation regalia.

Elizabeth's portrait appeared on several currencies, including coins of the East Caribbean dollar, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

The first Bank of England notes featuring Charles are set to enter circulation by mid-2024. The designs otherwise remain unchanged.

But Australia's central bank will replace Elizabeth on the $5 note with a design honouring Indigenous culture.

- Stamps -

Britain's Royal Mail released the first postage stamps featuring the new monarch's image on April 4. The portrait is adapted from Jennings' portrait.

Britain's new first class stamps featuring King Charles III are plum purple, with second class stamps in holly green
ROYAL MAIL GROUP/AFP | -

Stamps featuring Elizabeth will be sold until they run out.

A special set of coronation stamps entitled "A New Reign" celebrates causes championed by the king.

The four stamps depict the coronation, diversity and community, the Commonwealth, and sustainability and biodiversity.

New postboxes will feature the CIIIR cipher, for Charles III Rex.

The first Isle of Man post box bearing the cipher was unveiled on April 27 at the Postal Headquarters in the capital Douglas.

- Theatres, troops and twang -

Her Majesty's Theatre in London's West End, where "The Phantom of the Opera" has been running since 1986, will revert to becoming His Majesty's on Saturday.

Tourists stand next to a member of The Life Guards squadron at Horse Guards in central London
AFP or licensors
AFP | Daniel LEAL

In the military, new recruits now metaphorically take the king's shilling to sign up, and adhere to the king's regulations once in the ranks or board one of His Majesty's ships.

It is now the King's Life Guard which screams at tourists to make way or stand back from the soldiers or horses on ceremonial duty in London.

The police are now preserving the king's peace.

In law, suspects who admit guilt and testify against their accomplices in return for a lenient sentence are now turning king's evidence. Senior lawyers are now king's counsel (KC).

Prisoners are being detained at His Majesty's pleasure.

And speakers of Received Pronunciation, the poshest and most socially prestigious accent, will have to aspire to Charles's vowels and diphthongs to speak the King's English.

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