A COMMEMORATIVE £10 banknote to celebrate the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and her connections with Scotland has been launched.

The note depicts images of the Queen over her lifetime, including a picture one of her at Balmoral, an official photo-graph taken in the 1940s, an image of her attending the Mass for the Order of the Thistle, and one taken at Epsom Racecourse in 2008.

The note, launched by the Royal Bank of Scotland and approved by the Queen, is available in branches in Scotland as well as to order for its face value plus postage charges.

Two million of the notes will be issued, with initial supplies going into circulation from today, to celebrate the Queen's 60-year reign.

RBS chairman Sir Philip Hampton said: "RBS has a long connection with royalty and a tradition of issuing notes to commemorate royal celebrations.

"We felt this was the most fitting way to honour the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and her long reign as monarch."

The launch marks the first £10 commemorative note to be issued by RBS and is the third in the bank's specially issued note series, which also includes a £20 note for the Queen Mother's 100th birthday and a £5 note for the Queen's Golden Jubilee.

Some of the new notes, and other rare RBS banknotes, will be sold at a charity auction later in the year, with the proceeds going to the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Charity Trust.