King Charles to miss out on this huge royal honour the Queen held for more than 30 years

King Charles won't be given a special royal honour that his mother had

King Charles royal honour Queen Elizabeth - King Charles not on Australia banknote
(Image credit: Getty Images)

King Charles is reportedly set to miss out on a huge royal honour that the Queen held for 30 years.


The Queen had a huge royal honour when her portrait appeared on Australia's five dollar note. But following her death the bank is removing monarchs from its money - so King Charles III who has taken over the reign will not feature on the new notes.

The news comes as the country's central bank plans to unveil a new design that will pay tribute to "culture and history" on Indigenous Australians, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) says.

Meanwhile, in England, King Charles's coin effigy was revealed on new £5 and 50p coins by the Royal Mint along with King Charles bank notes that will be rolled out in future.

The Queen's portrait had been on the banknotes since 1992 and death of Queen Elizabeth II last year reignited debates over Australia's future as a constitutional monarchy.

"This decision by the Reserve Bank Board follows consultation with the Australian government, which supports this change," the bank said in a statement.

"The Bank will consult with First Australians in designing the $5 banknote. The new banknote will take a number of years to be designed and printed. In the meantime, the current $5 banknote will continue to be issued. It will be able to be used even after the new banknote is issued," it added.

Queen Elizabeth II portrait on Australian five dollar banknote

(Image credit: Getty)

According to reports by the BBC, the RBA currently has no plans to change the design of any other aspect of the Australian banknotes. 

And the new five dollar design has not yet been revealed.

Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe welcomed the decision, she tweeted, "This is a massive win for the grassroots, First Nations people who have been fighting to decolonise this country. First Nations people never ceded our Sovereignty to any King or Queen, ever. Time for a Treaty Republic!"

King Charles not on Australia banknote

(Image credit: Getty Images)

And the move along with the reactions from Senator Thorpe has received mixed views. 

One pointed out, "I think you might be taking this announcement to the extreme. Charles is 74, the financial aspect of using his image then changing it again isn’t viable so it makes more sense to do something that reflects Oz. This isn’t a decolonisation move."

Another wrote, "I’m British not Australian, but I support this 100%."

And a third added, "I wouldn’t call changing the design of a bank note a massive win. The change is a result of the queen dying, nothing to do with you."

Selina Maycock
Senior Family Writer

Selina is a Senior Family Writer for GoodtoKnow and has more than 16 years years of experience. She specialises in royal family news, including the latest activities of Prince George, Charlotte, Louis, Archie and Lilibet. She also covers the latest government, health and charity advice for families. Selina graduated from the University of Sheffield in 2006 with a degree in Journalism, and gained her NCTJ and NCE qualifications. During her career, she’s also written for Woman, Woman's Own, Woman&Home, and Woman's Weekly as well as Heat magazine, Bang Showbiz - and the Scunthorpe Telegraph. When she's not covering family news, you can find her exploring new countryside walking routes, catching up with friends over good food, or making memories (including award-winning scarecrows!)