Royalty
King Charles III names Prince Edward the new Duke of Edinburgh
On his 59th birthday, Prince Edward has been gifted the title of Duke of Edinburgh by his brother, King Charles III.
His Royal Highness becomes the Duke of Edinburgh almost two years after the passing of Prince Philip – his father.
It is believed that Prince Philip had wished for his eldest son to take on the title and this decision was made today by King Charles.
The former Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip, was given the title on the morning of his wedding to the then Princess Elizabeth.
Prince Edward will attend the coronation in May as a duke, alongside his wife Sophie, who now becomes the Duchess of Edinburgh.
The five UK coins that feature the Duke of Edinburgh
During his lifetime, Prince Philip – the previous Duke of Edinburgh – was commemorated on several UK coins.
In 1997, the Queen and Prince Philip celebrated their Golden Wedding Anniversary, and His Highness featured on a UK coin for the very first time as part of a conjoined effigy on the obverse of the commemorative £5 coin.
2007 saw a similar conjoined portrait.
The 2017 Platinum Wedding Anniversary coin featured the Queen and Prince Philip on horseback in a nod to the original 1953 Coronation Crown as well as a third conjoined portrait.
In 2011 Prince Philip was finally granted the greatest privilege – his own £5 Coin to celebrate his 90th Birthday.
This was followed in 2017, with a design of the young Prince Philip by Humphrey Paget to mark Prince Philip stepping down from public duties after 70 years of service.
Now that Edward takes on this title, collectors will eagerly be anticipating a royal issue featuring the new Duke of Edinburgh’s portrait. Only time will tell!
Browse our Duke of Edinburgh coin range
The story of the 1-a-minute Coronation sell-out
With a bank holiday weekend, star-studded concert, street parties across the nation and sell-out collectibles, the Coronation of King Charles III will be THE royal celebration of a lifetime.
Coin collectors don’t need telling twice how important this event is. The first Coronation for 70 years is going to be massive.
And the evidence of this came just under a week ago.
100 “Mint Masters” Coronation Sets launched at 9am on Wednesday 22 February. Just before 10:40am we saw a complete sell out.
1 set sold EVERY MINUTE until they were all allocated.
Why did it sell out so quickly?
Approved by King Charles III, the sell-out Mint Masters Set features three Silver £5 coins, issued specially for the Coronation.
Each coin depicts a key element of the Coronation. You have the King’s cypher, the Coronation Carriage and the Imperial State Crown.
A Golden Celebration
Unusually, the Mint Masters Set is reverse-plated in 24 Carat Gold, meaning the coins are struck from Fine Silver but feature additional gold plating.
The obverse designs have been left unplated, making the Coronation elements really stand out.
Design Royalty
Each coin in the Mint Masters Set features designs from one of the best in the business, a man synonymous with royalty on coinage.
Timothy Noad has worked as a professional calligrapher, illuminator and heraldic artist for over thirty years, acquiring an international reputation for his elegant and meticulous work.
A prolific designer of British coins and medals, Tim is the artist behind five One Pound coins and three Crowns commemorating royal occasions.
In 2022, he achieved the unique distinction of having his designs chosen for three Gold Sovereigns, The Queen’s Golden, Diamond and Platinum Jubilee Medals.
For the Mint Masters Set, he’s designed the Coronation Carriage and Imperial State Crown.
The end result is one of the best-looking sets you’ll see for the Coronation. Sure to be treasured pieces for the lucky 100 collectors that secured them before the quick sell-out.
If you’re interested…
But there’s good news! If you’re quick, you can get your hands on the Fine Silver Coronation £5 Coin Set. Limited to 995, the coins in this set feature 24 Carat Gold plating on the reverse designs.
Judging by the speed of the Mint Masters Set sell-out, these won’t be available for long so you’ll have to act fast.
Secure a set for your collection now >>
Approved by Buckingham Palace – The Official King Charles III Coronation Coins
A series of coronation coins have been approved by Buckingham Palace – featuring the official British Isles portrait of King Charles III.
Whilst we await for confirmation on a UK coronation coin, Buckingham Palace has approved a series of 50p coins celebrating His Majesty’s upcoming coronation in May.
However, one particular coin has been catching the attention of collectors…
The Dual-Plated King Charles III Coronation 50p
This 50p features the inscription ‘God Save the King‘ and is uniquely plated with a dual-plated finish of silver and 24 carat gold – not something we see very often.
This is the first coin in a brand new British Isles 50p series being issued over the coming months in the lead up to the coronation, all approved by the King himself.
You can add this coin to your collection today for our introductory offer of £4.99 (+p&p) – a saving of £20 – by clicking here.
Meet the obverse designer – Glyn Davies
In anticipation of these coins being issued, we spoke with Glyn Davies – the artist behind the British Isles King Charles III coinage portrait.
He explained that the process of creating our monarch’s portrait took him nearly 6 months. It involved initial sketches, concept sketches, clay models, digital drawings, and even having Raphael Maklouf check over them.
Raphael Maklouf famously designed the United Kingdom’s effigy of Queen Elizabeth II that appeared on our coinage between 1985 to 1997.
Watch or read our full interview with Glyn Davies here >>
King Charles III’s Coronation – what we know so far
With King Charles III’s Coronation (code name Operation Golden Orb) is set for Saturday 6th May, 2023, plans are already in place.
- During the ceremony, the King will be crowned alongside Camilla, the Queen Consort.
- The King will be crowned with the solid gold 17th Century St Edward’s Crown.
- There will be an extra bank holiday across the UK, on Monday 8th May.
- It’s expected to be shorter and smaller in scale than Queen Elizabeth II’s 1953 coronation.
- The King and Queen Consort will travel to Westminster Abbey in the King’s procession, and return to Buckingham Palace in a larger coronation procession, where they will be joined by other members of the Royal Family.
- The ceremony is likely to be broadcast live.
