See the evolution of the Queen’s portrait on the pound banknote, the British currency

Queen Elizabeth II is just like, in the royal notes, the effigy of the Republic. It is on all of the approximately five billion pound sterling notes that are currently in circulation. Through the image of the queen it is possible to observe the passage of time.

Elizabeth II’s first appearance on banknotes was in 1960, the first time a British monarch has appeared on a Bank of England banknote. At 34, she was portrayed with a diamond crown – an item that was repeated on other banknotes and stamps. The design was made by Robert Austin and did not please the British for the serious face and distant look.

Three years later, in 1963, the British BC requests a new portrait from the artist Reynolds Stone. In this case, the queen looks at the audience, in a less rigid and serious portrait. The image then became popular with the British, being used on the 5 and 10 pounds banknotes.

In 1970, when Elizabeth II turned 44 years old, two new portraits were made in clothes worn in formal ceremonies. One illustration was used on the lesser denominations, 1 and 5 pounds, and another one was for the larger denominations, 10, 20 and 50 pounds.

A few years later, in 1990, the image currently used on banknotes is conceived. With a more mature look, representing the 64-year-old monarch, the design by designer Roger Withington is now used on all banknotes. The portrait is so well known to the British that they use it as a mechanism to verify the authenticity of the banknote.

Still in the 1990s, the Bank of England asked for a new illustration, but this time without jewelry and evening wear. The image, taken again by Withington, begins to be used as a watermark and is the first in which the monarch looks to the right.

Finally, in 2016, the same image is used in the new series of banknotes that do not use paper and begin to be produced in polymer – there is no watermark. A second image of Elizabeth II is also placed in a transparent area that is visible on both sides of the banknote.