International

United Kingdom rolls out first passports in name of King Charles III

Published on 21 Jul 2023

The first British passports bearing the title “His Majesty” issued in the name of King Charles III.
UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman unveiled the new design update, which changes the passport salutation from Her Majesty following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September last year.
Existing passports remain valid and the old style will be phased out until all remaining stock featuring “Her Majesty” is exhausted.
For the first time since 1952 – the end of the reign of the last male monarch, Charles’ grandfather King George VI – passports have been issued under the title “His Majesty”.
As is customary, the 74-year-old King himself does not carry a passport as it is a document issued in his name.
The first security feature, a special watermark, was introduced in passports in 1972. Since then, a large number of security features have been incorporated into British passports, from watermarks, holograms, and elaborately printed patterns, to the polycarbonate page.
The first burgundy-colored machine-readable passports were issued in 1988 and over 30 years later, in 2020, the distinctive blue cover was re-introduced following the departure of the UK from the European Union (EU).

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