20 — Twenty Pounds
The artwork
Front: King Charles III in three-quarter profile at the right, the first Bank of England note to bear his likeness. To the left of the promise to pay — "I promise to pay the bearer on demand the sum of twenty pounds" — stand the four shields of the Union and the columned front of the Bank's Threadneedle Street building. A gold foil Britannia sits in the margin, and the large see-through window carries a blue and gold image of Margate lighthouse with the Turner Contemporary gallery behind it.
Back: Joseph Mallord William Turner, 1775–1851, taken from his self-portrait of about 1799 now in the Tate, set against his own painting of The Fighting Temeraire being towed to the breaker's yard — the tug's smoke, the old warship's masts, the low sun on the water. His signature appears beneath the portrait, with the line from his 1818 lecture: "Light is therefore colour". Serial EH33 124310 runs vertically at the left and again at the lower right.
In circulation
The Charles III portrait notes were issued in June 2024, entering circulation alongside the identical Elizabeth II design rather than replacing it — both remain legal tender and will circulate together until the older stock wears out. The underlying Turner £20 design dates from 2020, when it took over from the paper Adam Smith note.
Details
- CurrencyPound
- DenominationTwenty Pounds
- Collectedon the United Kingdom journeys, 1991–2016
- IssuerBank of England — "For the Governor and Company of the Bank of England", London
- SeriesTurner £20, polymer, with the Charles III portrait; copyright date 2023
- SignatureSarah John, Chief Cashier
- SecurityLarge see-through window with blue and gold foil lighthouse, a second small window, and a raised-dot tactile feature
- Dimensions139 × 73 mm