First outing

It is curious that for the first time the portrait of Elizabeth II appeared on banknotes long before she ascended the British throne. Back in 1935, the Canadian central bank issued a series of denominations featuring images of members of the royal family. At that time, little Lilibet was only 9 years old and she was not even the heir to the throne. At that time, her grandfather George V was the king of the United Kingdom. His portrait was printed on the 1 dollar bill, and the image of the curly princess adorned the 20 dollar bill.

In the status of the Queen

Elizabeth II ascended the throne in the winter of 1952 at the age of 25. And the first to issue banknotes with the image of the new monarch was the government of Hong Kong. New banknotes appeared in circulation on the territory of the British colony in the summer of the same year. However, in fairness, it is worth noting that the photo of Elizabeth printed on banknotes was taken even before she became queen. On the bill, the young queen is depicted wearing a diamond tiara, which she later wore to her coronation in 1953.

Forever young Elizabeth

In 1956, the artist Pietro Annigoni captures Elizabeth II at the age of 29. Subsequently, this portrait became one of her most famous and adorned the banknotes of many countries of the world, including Fiji, Mauritius and the Seychelles. It is noteworthy that the government of the Seychelles opted for this portrait and printed it on banknotes already when the age of Her Majesty approached 50 years.

First British pound

The first banknote of the Bank of England to feature a portrait of the Queen was the £1 note. By that time, Elizabeth II had been on the throne for 8 years. However, Her Majesty's subjects considered the look of the Queen in the image too cold and arrogant. Subsequently, 3 years later, when developing the design of the £5 pound note, the Bank of England decided to replace the previous image of the Queen.

First Australian dollar

In 1966, Australia finally abandoned the pound, but not the idea of depicting the British Queen. Thus, the first dollar bills, which are now highly valued by collectors, were printed with a photo of Elizabeth II, taken in 1964. At that time, Her Majesty was 38 years old.

Unconventional portrait

In the middle of the last century, several states of the Commonwealth of Nations issued banknotes on which the British monarch was depicted in an unusual way. The peculiarity of this image was that the gaze of Elizabeth II was directed to the left. This was a real nonsense, because until that moment the Queen on banknotes always looked to the right. The first to break tradition was the Reserve Bank of Australia.

Two queens

In 2002, the 50th anniversary of the ascension of Elizabeth II to the British throne was celebrated. On this occasion, the Scottish Government issued new £5 notes. The new bills were unusual in that they depicted two queens at once. One is captured at a young age, the other - already in adulthood. However, it is worth noting that this is not the only banknote where Her Majesty is depicted at a young and old age. In 2015, the Bank of Canada printed a commemorative note that also features two portraits of the Queen.

The most mature portrait

Another coveted item that collectors are on the hunt for is the $20 note, issued 6 years ago by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. On this bill, the Queen appears at her most mature age, captured in the photo. The photo was taken in 2011, when Her Majesty turned 85 years old. It depicts Elizabeth II in a diamond tiara, which she wore to her marriage to Prince Philip.