Bank of England 10s note longer and narrower, and were the first ten-shilling notes to feature a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on the front. The reverse design incorporated the logo of the Bank of England. In the late 1960s it was decided that future banknotes should feature a British historical figure on the reverse. The first such note was the series D £20 note, first issued in 1970, featuring William Shakespeare. A design for a ten-shilling note featuring Walter Raleigh on the reverse was approved in 1964 but was never issued. Instead, in 1969, as part of the process of decimalisation, a new fifty
Bank of England note issues controversial for two reasons: the choice of a Scottish figure on an English note was a break with tradition; and the removal of Elgar took place in the year of the 150th anniversary of the composer's birth, causing a group of English MPs to table a motion in the House of Commons calling for the new design to be delayed. The new note entered circulation on 13 March 2007. The Elgar note ceased to be legal tender on 30 June 2010. £50 notes, in white, appeared in 1725 and continued to be issued until 1943. They ceased to be legal