diff --git a/docs/src/whatsnew/latest.rst b/docs/src/whatsnew/3.11.rst
similarity index 84%
rename from docs/src/whatsnew/latest.rst
rename to docs/src/whatsnew/3.11.rst
index 6700774480..6917a303a4 100644
--- a/docs/src/whatsnew/latest.rst
+++ b/docs/src/whatsnew/3.11.rst
@@ -1,13 +1,13 @@
 .. include:: ../common_links.inc
 
-|iris_version| |build_date| [unreleased]
-****************************************
+v3.11 (28 Oct 2024) [release candidate]
+***************************************
 
 This document explains the changes made to Iris for this release
 (:doc:`View all changes <index>`.)
 
 
-.. dropdown:: |iris_version| Release Highlights
+.. dropdown:: v3.11 Release Highlights
    :color: primary
    :icon: info
    :animate: fade-in
@@ -15,7 +15,25 @@ This document explains the changes made to Iris for this release
 
    The highlights for this major/minor release of Iris include:
 
-   * N/A
+   * Iris is now compliant with NumPy v2. See the notes below for how this might
+     affect your scripts.
+
+   * Loading now supports varying reference fields for hybrid vertical
+     coordinates, e.g. a time-varying orography.  This is controlled by the
+     :meth:`~iris.LOAD_POLICY` object : see :class:`~iris.LoadPolicy`.
+
+   * We now have type hints in :class:`~iris.cube.Cube`, and
+     :meth:`iris.cube.CubeList.concatenate` is in places almost an order of
+     magnitude faster!
+
+   * `@bouweandela`_ added type hints for :class:`~iris.cube.Cube`.
+
+   * Checkout the significant performance enhancements section for a couple of
+     improvements to the performance of Iris.
+     Special thanks to `@bouweandela`_ for these contributions.
+
+   * We added ``colorbar`` keyword to allow optional creation of
+     the colorbar in three quickplot methods!
 
    And finally, get in touch with us on :issue:`GitHub<new/choose>` if you have
    any issues or feature requests for improving Iris. Enjoy!
diff --git a/docs/src/whatsnew/index.rst b/docs/src/whatsnew/index.rst
index 74cb0cd43d..c3e71b358c 100644
--- a/docs/src/whatsnew/index.rst
+++ b/docs/src/whatsnew/index.rst
@@ -6,13 +6,13 @@
 What's New in Iris
 ------------------
 
-.. include:: latest.rst
+.. include:: 3.11.rst
 
 .. toctree::
    :maxdepth: 1
    :hidden:
 
-   latest.rst
+   3.11.rst
    3.10.rst
    3.9.rst
    3.8.rst
diff --git a/docs/src/whatsnew/latest.rst.template b/docs/src/whatsnew/latest.rst.template
deleted file mode 100644
index fedddec5c0..0000000000
--- a/docs/src/whatsnew/latest.rst.template
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,107 +0,0 @@
-.. include:: ../common_links.inc
-
-|iris_version| |build_date| [unreleased]
-****************************************
-
-This document explains the changes made to Iris for this release
-(:doc:`View all changes <index>`.)
-
-
-.. dropdown:: |iris_version| Release Highlights
-   :color: primary
-   :icon: info
-   :animate: fade-in
-   :open:
-
-   The highlights for this major/minor release of Iris include:
-
-   * N/A
-
-   And finally, get in touch with us on :issue:`GitHub<new/choose>` if you have
-   any issues or feature requests for improving Iris. Enjoy!
-
-
-NOTE: section BELOW is a template for bugfix patches
-====================================================
-    (Please remove this section when creating an initial 'latest.rst')
-
-|iris_version| |build_date|
-===========================
-
-.. dropdown:: |iris_version| Patches
-   :color: primary
-   :icon: alert
-   :animate: fade-in
-
-   The patches in this release of Iris include:
-
-   #. N/A
-
-NOTE: section ABOVE is a template for bugfix patches
-====================================================
-    (Please remove this section when creating an initial 'latest.rst')
-
-
-📢 Announcements
-================
-
-#. N/A
-
-
-✨ Features
-===========
-
-#. N/A
-
-
-🐛 Bugs Fixed
-=============
-
-#. N/A
-
-
-💣 Incompatible Changes
-=======================
-
-#. N/A
-
-
-🚀 Performance Enhancements
-===========================
-
-#. N/A
-
-
-🔥 Deprecations
-===============
-
-#. N/A
-
-
-🔗 Dependencies
-===============
-
-#. N/A
-
-
-📚 Documentation
-================
-
-#. N/A
-
-
-💼 Internal
-===========
-
-#. N/A
-
-
-.. comment
-    Whatsnew author names (@github name) in alphabetical order. Note that,
-    core dev names are automatically included by the common_links.inc:
-
-
-
-
-.. comment
-    Whatsnew resources in alphabetical order:
\ No newline at end of file