Have you ever noticed there is one individual that keeps appearing repeatedly on banknotes and coins denominations? Yes, that is the Queen of England-Elizabeth Alexandra Mary. Her portraits were easy to be caught up in if you travel into any continent. However, Antarctica doesn't belong on this list.
Elizabeth Alexandra Mary successfully became the Queen after her father’s death in 1952 when she was 25 years old. Queen Elizabeth is the Queen of England and also the head of the other 15 Common states.
The Guinness World Record for most currencies featuring the same individual.
The Queen Elizabeth II banknote was famous because of its popularity. The Guinness World Record had given her as one of the most chosen ones to be displayed on a banknote due to more than 30 countries having selected her. Obviously, it is often to be seen on the banknotes of the United Kingdom’s colonizers. However, the first country that featured our Queen isn’t the United Kingdom. Canada was the first country to use Queen Elizabeth’s portrait in its banknote in 1935. The $20 notes in the first banknote series of Canada featured the portrait of an 8-years-old Princess Elizabeth. The image was taken by the royal photographer Marcus Adam. After 1952, the princess became the Queen of England, her face then rose up on banknotes of the entire world.
During the 1950s and 1960s, this period was recorded as the most numerous countries featured the Queen on the bills. Additionally, in 1960, this was the first time the UK used one of the monarch's portraits to be featured on bills.
In total, 33 countries have been using the Queen’s portrait on the bills. And at least 35 countries possessed the coinages containing her portraits. And more than 100 different currencies have been created with her face graced on the facade. Queen Elizabeth II isn’t the only royal member to have been displayed on bills. But she holds the highest number of currencies with her face on it and furthermore, Queen Elizabeth II is recorded as the longest-reigning monarch ever, and the wealthiest, suppressing her great grandmother-Queen Victoria’s record.
Once her father-King George VI-ascending to throne in 1936. His daughter-Princess Elizabeth-became the first heir to the throne. After becoming the queen in 1952 upon her father’s death, many countries began circulating the queen’s portrait on their banknotes in her honor. Jamaica Pound, for example, all the banknote denominations featured a portrait of a 26-years-old young and delicate Queen of England. Followed by Australia's banknote, at the age of 38, Queen Elizabeth II still kept her beauty without the touching of time. Her portrait was taken and printed on the $1 notes of Australia’s first dollar series.
From 1952, the portrait of our Queen wearing the George IV State Diadem grew public because of its beauty. Hence, it was widely being used to print on banknotes at that time by the UK’s territories including Australia, Canada, Cayman Islands, New Zealand, etc,...Though after gaining independence, many countries switched off her portrait to their local leaders or their scenery which presented their culture and history. Jamaica, for instance, used Marcus Garvey on their bills in 1966. Likewise, Bermuda replaced hers with its local animal pictures. However, more than 20 other countries remained her dearest face (even just one denomination) for display including Canada and Australia.
The portraits of the Queen of England from 1952 were only taken by Dorothy Wilding- a professional royal photographer. In 1960, at the age of 30, the first banknote bearing her portrait of England was taken by Robert Austin, later on, the second series was taken by Reynold Stones. From the 1970s, when Queen Elizabeth II was 40, her portraits were credited to Harry Eccleston.
In accordance, each Queen Elizabeth II’s portrait needs to be chosen by the authority of money production. Addiction to this, her portraits depended on the authority’s wishes. Most of the time, they wished the Queen of England to be showing in formal attire. But sometimes, in some banknotes, she will be wearing informal outfits.
Interestingly, the first country using her portrait was Canada, and also the latest country that bears hers on its $20 notes in the 2011 banknote series. At the age of 90, she was no longer youthful and budding. But stillness with the gorgeous and wealthy, Queen Elizabeth II is eternal over time not only in history but also in banknotes from the entire world.
