this post was submitted on 11 Oct 2025
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The full redesign, coming into effect from December, will be the first since passports turned dark blue after Brexit.

Shame they aren't changing them back to burgundy whilst they're at it.

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[–] xxce2AAb@feddit.dk 9 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Pointless pageantry, but whatever floats his royal boat.

[–] milkisklim@lemmy.world 8 points 1 day ago (2 children)

In all fairness, I don't think he really cares considering he cant have a passport in the first place.

[–] i_am_not_a_robot@feddit.uk 3 points 1 day ago

Yeah, it's more about updating to the current emblems, which would happen anyway. Sounds like they are updating the passports and doing this at the same time. If the King was that bothered he would have made them change it when they altered the text from "her majesty" to "his majesty".

[–] xxce2AAb@feddit.dk 3 points 1 day ago (4 children)

I honestly don't know how that works. Does he even require one?

[–] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 6 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

Passports are basically letters from heads of state requesting safe access for their citizen who holds that letter. The oldest record of such being recorded in the Old Testament book of Nehemiah.

Nehemiah 2:7-10

And I said to the king, “If it pleases the king, let letters be given me to the governors of the province Beyond the River, that they may let me pass through until I come to Judah, and a letter to Asaph, the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the fortress of the temple, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall occupy.” And the king granted me what I asked, for the good hand of my God was upon me. Then I came to the governors of the province Beyond the River and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent with me officers of the army and horsemen. But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, it displeased them greatly that someone had come to seek the welfare of the people of Israel.

The front cover of your British passport should include the following:

His Britannic Majesty's Secretary of State requests and requires in the name of His Majesty all those whom it may concern to allow the bearer to pass freely without let or hindrance, and to afford the bearer such assistance and protection as may be necessary.

I believe other countries have a similar note.

Over time, they got more and more standardised into identity documents, but that front cover is basically the core part.

So, the King doesn't need a letter from himself asking for safe passage.

Kinda the same with driving licences. The King probably had one as Prince of Wales, but Queen Elizabeth II I don't believe ever had one. She didn't need one as they are essentially permission from the King/Queen to operate the car.

[–] xxce2AAb@feddit.dk 4 points 1 day ago

Interesting. Thank you.

[–] tal@lemmy.today 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

The King probably had one as Prince of Wales, but Queen Elizabeth II I don't believe ever had one.

https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/prince-charles-involved-car-crash-deer-queens-balmoral/story?id=42109699

The Prince of Wales' car collided with a deer while he was driving at the Queen's Balmoral Castle estate in Scotland over the weekend.

Prince Charles walked away uninjured from behind the wheel, but his car, an Audi, was damaged. Clarence House declined to comment on the crash.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to take your permission note I gave you to drive away. We can't have you smashing into my deer."

[–] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 2 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

I remember Prince Philip had one, he actually was pressured into giving it up after getting into a car accident.

[–] tal@lemmy.today 1 points 11 hours ago

Now I know how The Onion feels around Trump news stories.

[–] ohulancutash@feddit.uk 2 points 1 day ago

“Hello, old chap. I wonder, have you met my Navy?”

[–] milkisklim@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

Since all British passports are issued in the name of the Sovereign and he has the Crown he just sort of waves a hand and other countries pretend that's alright since he can't really holiday to the south of France.

Source

[–] i_am_not_a_robot@feddit.uk 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

He just waves a freshly minted 50 as he walks through passport control.

[–] xxce2AAb@feddit.dk 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

"You see this 50 quid note? That's my face on it. Questions? No? Good."

[–] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 2 points 1 day ago

Read the article. They're just updating the passport as a whole. So it makes sense they'll change the crown on the cover to reflect the King's arms.