The new King Charles £10 note as date it enters circulation announced

King Charles has come face to face with the first banknotes bearing his portrait in a milestone moment for the monarch.

The King was presented with the new £5, £10, £20 and £50 note at Buckingham Palace today (April 9) just over a year and a half since the start of his reign.

The new banknotes will go into circulation in June and the existing banknotes, from the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, will continue to be used alongside the new notes.

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The King who has not been taking part in big public engagements since his cancer diagnosis has continued with private events such as today’s meeting, where he was shown the banknotes by the Governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey.

They were joined by Sarah John, the Bank of England’s Chief Cashier, whose signature appears on the currency, and the King gave a broad grin as he greeted his guests in the 1844 Room.

He is only the second British monarch to grace the Bank of England’s notes – and it is the first time one sovereign’s image has been replaced with another.

Although notes began to be issued from the late 17th century, Charles’s mother, Queen Elizabeth II, was the first British sovereign to be given the honour in 1960 on a £1 paper note.

Before this, Britannia was the only character to have appeared.

The money will be issued gradually into circulation from June 5 – with Charles’s portrait featuring on the front of the banknotes, as well as in cameo in the see-through security window, visible on the front and back.

The reverse side characters remain unchanged from previous editions – with Sir Winston Churchill on the £5, Jane Austen on the £10, JMW Turner on the £20 and Alan Turing