Only the queen is not required to carry a U.K. passport, because the document is her request to let her citizens pass freely. The first safe conduct papers, written notes signed by King Henry V, were issued in the 15th century. It was not until the outbreak of World War I in 1914 that the first modern passport was produced. It was a single sheet, folded into eight with a cardboard cover. It contained a description of the holder, including the size of his or her nose and eyes, as well as a photograph. Since then, there have been 15 different versions. Today’s passport is a burgundy, European-style document. An electronic chip was introduced in 2006, while the current version, with enhanced security features to combat criminal fraud and tampering, was launched in October 2010.
In 2006, an electronic chip, holding the facial and fingerprint biometric data of the passport owner as well as a unique number, was introduced to the U.K. passport to comply with the U.S. waiver program. In this older version, which will be phased out as each one meets its 10-year expiration date, the chip is clearly visible on the back page. The new 2010 passport has it embedded inside the passport cover, making it invisible and much harder to replace without damaging the document.
The biographical page in the 2006 passport is laminated and at the back of the book. In 2010, the new version extended the biographical details to cover two pages, adding a second photograph of the holder printed on the adjoining page, to make it harder to substitute an image. These personal details were also moved to the front of the passport, to conform with most other European countries as well as the United States. They are now covered in a thin film of laminate, which includes holograms and a unique serial number of seven alphanumeric characters cut into the metalized area beneath the passport owner's photograph.
The paintings of birds that covered the pages of the 2006 passport, were replaced in 2010 with idyllic images of the United Kingdom. Stretched over two pages to make them harder to remove, alter or replace, they represent the four nations, with drawings of the White Cliffs of Dover in England, the Gower Peninsula in Wales, Ben Nevis in Scotland and the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland. Windmills, cottages, fishing villages and stately homes have been drawn, using sophisticated printing techniques to combat forgery. There are also flora and fauna emblems, which are only visible under ultraviolet light. The passport’s serial number is laser-perforated throughout the book, using variable shapes including squares, circles and triangles.
Watermarks of birds are set into the pages of the 2006 version. A new watermark was introduced in 2010, consisting of the four floral emblems of the United Kingdom -- the rose, thistle, daffodil and shamrock-- along with a bright watermark of a butterfly sitting on an oak leaf. Reflecting the British obsession with the weather, meteorological office symbols of isobars and storm fronts have also been overprinted on the passport’s 32 pages.
