One can see One’s face! Proud Queen shows off the new polymer £5 note to the Colombian president (and Churchill fan) during state visit to the UK 

  • The Colombian president has been on the first state tour in UK this week
  • The Queen showed off the newest currency addition, the polymer £5 note
  • President Santos is said to be a huge fan of Winston Churchill, who is the new face of the fiver 

By Rebecca Taylor For Mailonline

Published: 07:26 EDT, 3 November 2016 | Updated: 08:17 EDT, 3 November 2016

The Queen has been showing off Britain's new £5 note to Colombia's President as he visits Britain. 

In this video, Queen Elizabeth, dressed in pink, directs President Juan Manuel Santos to a display of the polymer note, which went into circulation in mid-September.  

She appears to show the president how different they feel to the traditional note, instructing him to touch one himself.  

The Queen leans over the display of British currency, including the new £5 note, and explains how it is different to the old paper note

She appears to tell the president to have a look and touch the note himself, as he touches it and then seems to discuss the texture with her

The pair chat as they peruse the display, perhaps discussing Winston Churchill, who the president is a great admirer of.

Churchill appears on the polymer £5 notes and was chosen because the notes, like him, will stand the test of time, according to the Bank of England. 

Fans of the new note have been paying thousands of pounds to get their hands on the first print-run and even to buy up notes with '666' in the serial number.  

The display was put together for president Santos' state visit to the UK, which happened this week. He arrived on Tuesday and met with the Prime Minister on Wednesday 

The Queen hosted a lavish banquet for president Santos, and 170 guests, including tennis star Jamie Murray, whose wife is Colombian

The Queen beams as she talks with the president about the new £5, indicating that perhaps she is quite proud of the newest currency

President Manuel Santos has been meeting with key Cabinet members including Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and the Prime Minister Theresa May, during his visit to Britain. 

On Tuesday, he said he was ready to explore new trade possibilities with the UK as the Brexit process unfolds. 

Mrs May and Mr Santos announced a new oil and gas partnership and a new double taxation agreement aimed at helping businesses in the two countries.  

Mrs May said the UK has been the third largest foreign investor in Colombia over the past decade and the trading relationship was worth £1 billion last year.

She said: 'As the UK prepares to leave the EU, I am determined that Britain should become the global champion of free trade, and that means boosting trade with fast-growing economies like Colombia.' 

The Queen donned a pink dress with pearls as she took Mr Santos around the palace when he visited. He was due to go to Northern Ireland today

The Colombian president and his family are staying at Buckingham Palace while on their state visit.

They were greeted and hosted by the Queen despite her sporting a severely bloodshot eye in several photographs. 

On Tuesday night the Queen hosted a glittering state banquet, with guests including tennis star Jamie Murray – who has a Colombian wife, Alejandra – and Theresa May dining on Dover sole with Morecambe Bay shrimps in a light saffron cream, followed by pot-roasted Windsor estate pheasant with pickled cabbage, port and truffle jus, broccoli and potatoes.

Resplendent in a gold gown, the Queen thanked President Juan Manuel Santos de Calderon for bringing her some of his nation's 'world famous' coffee, joking it 'should ensure that everyone is wide awake' at a business meeting later this week.  

Mr Santos was joined by his wife, Maria Clemencia Rodriguez de Santos, at the banquet, where he delivered a speech praising the 'genius' of Shakespeare, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

Mr Santos will travel to Northern Ireland today to meet community leaders in Belfast.

This is the first state visit to the UK by a Colombian president and is shortly after Mr Santos received the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in bringing one of the longest running civil wars to an end.  

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