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'I'm disgusted my passport says Queen Elizabeth – it's disrespectful to Charles'

22 June 2023 , 11:19
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Ian Thompsett was upset with his new passport (Image: Ian Thompsett / SWNS)
Ian Thompsett was upset with his new passport (Image: Ian Thompsett / SWNS)

A man claims it is "disgusting and disrespectful" to not have King Charles on his new passport and still having Queen Elizabeth is "an insult to her memory".

Ian Thompsett, 45, paid £88 to renew his passport earlier this month but was upset to see it refer to "Her Majesty" instead of "His Majesty".

The dad-of-three, who says he is not an ardent royalist, was so shocked by the "lax" outdated language he thought he might have been tricked into buying a fake.

He has now called on the Government to update all passports to ensure "the King's reign is respected".

Ian, a DJ from Rugby, said: "It was my intention to go to Amsterdam in the Netherlands in July to see Coldplay. I looked at my passport and it had run out so I did a renewal application online a fortnight ago.

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'I'm disgusted my passport says Queen Elizabeth – it's disrespectful to Charles'He felt it was disrespectful to King Charles (Ian Thompsett / SWNS)
'I'm disgusted my passport says Queen Elizabeth – it's disrespectful to Charles'The new passport still refers to Queen Elizabeth (Ian Thompsett / SWNS)

"I was told it could be 10 weeks but they did it in two so the service was great. I opened it up yesterday and on the very first page it gives the declaration and I read it and just couldn't believe a brand-new £88 renewal passport still states it is Her Majesty's passport even after all this time.

"The King was crowned in May but the very first page refers to the Queen. There is nothing about the King at all and it really upset me. My first thought was 'have I been diddled?' I wondered whether it was fraud.

"You just don't expect that the government would be so lax that something with the Crown's stamp would be out of date. The King's coronation should be reflected.

"It is disgusting and a total insult to her memory and to our King's position as head of state. It's been a long time since her passing - surely they've had time to change a statement in what is a very expensive process.

"But more importantly it's a British document that quite clearly isn't correct. I understand that stamps and currency in circulation take time to change but the passport should have been updated from the day of Charles' coronation.

"Every passport should show him respect as the King. Everybody that is alive today in the UK and the Commonwealth knows the Queen.

"I vividly remember meeting the Queen in 1993 when I was an army cadet in what was then the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters. I was lucky enough to be a standard bearer for a visit she made to a memorial in Crook, Derbyshire.

"She was very, very nice and I was very, very proud to have met her. She was a huge part of our lives and deserves to be remembered and celebrated. It is equally important for Charles as the King to be respected in the same way.

"He is now our King whether people agree with his past or not. We should respect that and the Passport Office should follow suit."

The Home Office, which oversees the Passport Office, declined to comment.

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Tim Hanlon

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