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Former Australian prime minister John Howard has praised Queen Elizabeth II's dedication to serving the UK and the world.

Howard reminisced on his encounters with the Queen and also shared his thoughts on the new king.

Howard reflected on what he believes is one of the Queen's most memorable speeches when she visited South Africa in 1947 prior to her coronation.

LIVE UPDATES: Aussie politicians pay tribute to the Queen

"She said her whole life whether it be long or short would be devoted to the great as she described it then to the imperial family. How true that turned out to be," he said.

Howard said the Queen's last act in receiving Liz Truss as the new prime minister proved her dedication to duty.

"The fact that occurred just two days before she died was in many ways a metaphor for her whole life," he said.

"She saw service, commitment to duty, doing the right thing constitutionally and always understanding she was monarch by the free will and consent of her people not by any divine right."

'She had a great sense of humour'

Howard also affectionally reflected on his encounters with the Queen however said it was "impossible" to pick his favourite.

"My own dealings with her are ones I'll remember with great affection," he said.

"She had a great sense of humour, she had what seemed to me a great curiosity about Australia, she understood different features of Australian life."

Howard said although the Queen didn't share the same sporting passion for cricket they did share some happy moments at the Ashes.

READ MORE: The life and achievements of Queen Elizabeth II

He mentioned the referendum on whether Australia should maintain a monarch in 1999 and how gracious the Queen was.

"She always kept a proper constitutional difference. I can speculate what her feelings were after the result was announced but she did nothing but honour the democratic acceptance of her as the Queen of Australia," he said.

'She had that great capacity to put people at ease'

The former prime minister flagged one particular meeting with the Queen when Commonwealth heads of government dined in Edinburgh.

"Halfway through the dinner, the Queen and Jean Chretien broke into french for several minutes," he said.

"My schoolboy French wasn't much good but I don't think there was anything very controversial being said about the other guests.

"She had that great capacity to put people at ease."

READ MORE: What happens now the Queen has died?

Howard says Charles will be a different ruler to his mother

As Charles takes the throne as king, Howard said he expects him to do the job "conscientiously" and differently to his mother.

"His life has been all about preparing for it. People will form opinions and to use that great Australian expression, they'll pay on performance," Howard said.

"It can't be a re-run on his mother because she was 26 when she came to the throne and he's in his 70s so it's obviously very different."

Other Australian prime ministers have paid their respects to the Queen including Scott Morrison, Malcolm Turnbull, and Tony Abbott.

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Australia's modern coinage has only ever known the face of one monarch – Elizabeth II.

The long-serving queen ascended the throne in 1952. Australia switched to a dollar currency in 1966.

In all the years since, it has been Queen Elizabeth's face on the obverse of every coin in circulation, as well as the now-obsolete $1 bill.

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But with the ascent of King Charles III to the throne, that is set to change.

The Royal Mint in Canberra is expected to start issuing coins emblazoned with the new monarch's profile in 2023.

The Treasury has been working with the Royal Australian Mint and Perth Mint in order to facilitate the change in recent months.

But given the expected timeframe of the transition, coins bearing Queen Elizabeth II's effigy may continue to be minted, and will remain legal tender – even when Charles-stamped coins enter circulation.

READ MORE: The life and achievements of Queen Elizabeth II

The same goes for the Queen-imprinted $5 notes.

The Reserve Bank of Australia said in a release there would be no "immediate change" to any banknotes.

"The $5 banknotes featuring the image of Her Majesty The Queen can continue to be used," the RBA said.

"They will not be withdrawn and are likely to remain in circulation for years to come."

READ MORE: What happens now the Queen has died?

But they did point out the reigning monarch "traditionally appeared" on the lowest denomination of Australian banknotes, meaning Charles will adorn the $5 bill at some point.

"The Reserve Bank will provide further updates in due course," the statement read.

And in the meantime, there are some things we can surmise.

Coins featuring Charles' portrait have already been issued as special edition currency in the UK, including for his 70th birthday.

On these coins, he faces in the same direction as his mother does – that is, to the right.

But traditionally, a new monarch will face the opposite direction to their predecessor on a new minting of coins, meaning currency bearing the face of King Charles, as opposed to Prince Charles, would likely see him facing left.

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Queen Elizabeth II made her final appearance just two days before her death when she appointed Britain's new prime minister Lizz Truss on Tuesday.

Her majesty, has died aged 96, peacefully at her Balmoral home in Scotland.

Just a few days prior, the monarch appeared at a historic ceremony which took place inside the green-carpeted Drawing Room at Balmoral Castle, instead of at Buckingham Palace as per tradition.

LIVE UPDATES: 'A moment of great sadness': New King's tribute to Queen Elizabeth

Photos from their meeting showed the 96-year-old happy and smiling however she appeared to have a heavily bruised hand.

ITV's royal editor Chris Ship previously told Today the bruising was a sign of changing times in the Queen's advancing years.

"I'm no medic but it could be some form of cannula that the Queen's had, we are guessing," Ship said.

Shortly after the meeting with Truss on Tuesday, the palace announced that the monarch would miss a Privy Council meeting after being advised by doctors to rest.

The meeting was scheduled to take place on Wednesday.

"After a full day, Her Majesty has this afternoon accepted doctors' advice to rest," a palace spokesperson said earlier this week.

The Queen also missed the Highland Games event which was held on September 3 in Scotland.

READ MORE: From assassination plots to making Aeroguard famous: A look back on the Queen's visits to Australia

Her Majesty had been staying in Balmoral since late July and had been visited by members of her family in the weeks since.

The last time the Queen was seen in public was on July 15, when the she made a visit to Thames Hospice, Maidenhead in Berkshire.

Her majesty was joined by Princess Anne to open a new building.

The Queen's passing comes after Buckingham Palace released a previous troubling statement saying that doctors had recommended the monarch remain under "medical supervision".

The news of her ill health emerged at about 1pm Scottish local time, which was 10pm for Australia.

The death of the beloved monarch came just hours later, shocking the world.

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