The King’s coat of arms will be on the front of all new passports from December, the Home Office has announced.
Pages on the inside of the passport have also been changed as part of the revamp and will feature images of natural landscapes from across the four nations – Ben Nevis, the Lake District, Three Cliffs Bay and the Giant’s Causeway.
The Home Office said the new passport, the first wholly new design in five years, will be the “most secure passport ever produced” and will include the latest anti-forgery technology, including new holographic and translucent features.
These new features will make passports easier to verify and “even harder to forge or tamper with”, the Home Office said.
Migration and citizenship minister Mike Tapp said: “The introduction of His Majesty’s arms, iconic landscapes, and enhanced security features marks a new era in the history of the British passport.
“It also demonstrates our commitment to outstanding public service – celebrating British heritage while ensuring our passports remain among the most secure and trusted in the world for years to come.”
The Home Office said that passports with Queen Elizabeth II’s coat of arms remain valid until the expiry date listed inside the passport.
But it urged people to check the validity of their passport and apply in good time ahead of planned travel.
The first modern-style British passport was issued more than a century ago in 1915.
And the first security feature, a watermark, was added in 1972, since then “dozens” of further security measures have been introduced.
