evidence: For the first time in 70 years, British passports bearing the title of ‘His Majesty’ will start being issued this week in the name of His Majesty King Charles III, the Home Secretary has announced. [...] 1794 – All passports began to be issued by the Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, who we would now call the Foreign Secretary. Previously all passports would have been issued and signed by the King and Queen. [...] 1988 – The first burgundy coloured machine-readable passports were issued in the UK following the common format introduced by the European Economic Community.