The familiar royal arms, which feature a lion and a unicorn rampant against a shield, are used widely on government premises and stationery, and any change would be costly, but it may not be necessary. This can be changed by the General Synod. In services of holy communion contained in the common worship, there is a “collect” for the sovereign that asks God to “rule the heart of thy chosen servant Elizabeth, our Queen and governor, that she may above all things seek thy honour and glory”. Priests are also able to amend the prayer for temporary use, which means prayers for the monarch that are commonly said in Sunday services and evensong can quickly be adapted to the new defender of the faith. This must be done by legislation or a royal warrant and was last done after the Queen Mother died. These are expected to be amended to become prayers for the new monarch.

One asks God to “replenish her with the grace of thy Holy Spirit, that she may alway incline to thy will, and walk in thy way”. The Queen was the “defender of the faith and supreme governor” of the Church of England, and there are prayers to her in the Book of Common Prayer, which dates from 1662. The anthem has been in use since 1745 when an early version ran: “God save great George our king, Long live our noble king, God save the king.” Prayers One of the most straightforward changes, in theory, will be switching the words of the national anthem from “God save our gracious Queen” to “God save our gracious King” – although it may take time before large crowds sing the new version with confidence. Photograph: Malcolm Haines/AlamyĬoin designs may be changed more slowly if historical precedent is followed: it was common to have different monarchs in your wallet as the changeover in coins happened organically rather than through recall. The Queen’s head also features on some $20 banknotes in Canada, on coins in New Zealand, and on all coins and notes issued by the Eastern Caribbean central bank, as well as other parts of the Commonwealth.Ĭoin designs may alter more slowly than changes for banknotes. An image of the new monarch would be agreed with Buckingham Palace. That changed in 1960 when the face of Elizabeth II began to appear on £1 notes in an image created by the banknote designer Robert Austin, which some criticised as too severe. When the Queen acceded to the throne in 1952, the monarch was not featured on the banknotes.

When the latest synthetic £50 notes were issued, the process of recall and replacement took the Bank of England 16 months. Replacing them with alternatives featuring the head of the new monarch is likely to take at least two years. There are 4.5bn sterling bank notes in circulation with the Queen’s face on them, worth a combined £80bn. The next monarch could incorporate a Welsh element. It has been in use since long before Wales had its own national flag, recognised in 1959. The version used by the Queen includes one quarter representing Scotland (a lion rampant), one for Northern Ireland (a harp), and two representing England (three lions passant), but none for Wales. It is possible that the royal standard – the quartered flag that flies wherever the monarch is in residence – could also change.

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