King Charles III Won’t Appear On Australia’s New Banknotes

Topline

King Charles III will not feature on Australia’s new $5 banknote, the country’s central bank announced on Thursday, a divisive step as Britain’s former colonies reevaluate their ties to the monarchy following the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

The Australian $5 banknote currently features the late Queen Elizabeth II.

AFP via Getty Images

Key Facts

Australia’s new $5 bill will feature an Indigenous design rather than an image of King Charles, the Reserve Bank of Australia said in a statement.

The bank said the new design will honor “the culture and history of the First Australians” and that it will consult First Australians when designing the note.

The image will replace a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, who died last year and has featured in “every Australian banknote series since her coronation” in 1953.

The $5 bill is Australia’s only banknote that still features the monarch’s image and the bank said it will remain legal tender even after the introduction of the new note.

The government backs the decision to cut the monarch from the $5 bill and the announcement was welcomed by many people pushing to address and move on from Australia’s colonial past .

It has proven divisive, however, and has been slammed by monarchists and called an “attack” on Australian institutions and society by opposition leader Peter Dutton, who claimed the bank had no right to make decision of that nature.

Key Background

King Charles automatically became the British monarch upon his mother’s death in September. As monarch, Charles also became the U.K.’s head of state and head of the Commonwealth, a group of 56 independent countries, most former British colonies. The monarch’s image is used widely on currencies across the Commonwealth and it is not clear how all will choose to replace the Queen’s likeness. In addition to the U.K., Charles is head of state to a number of other countries in the Commonwealth including Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the Bahamas and Jamaica. This role is largely ceremonial and the Queen’s death triggered debate in many countries over the extent and nature of their future ties with Britain and the monarchy.

What To Watch For

King Charles will still appear on Australia’s coins, which currently bear the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. The Royal Australian Mint said it expects to unveil the design of the first King Charles III coins in “early 2023” and these will go into production later this year.

What We Don’t Know

The central bank did not provide a timeline for the new note’s introduction or indicate when it would reveal the new design. The current banknote will continue to be issued until the new note goes into circulation and the bank said this process could take several years.