Queen Elizabeth II was the longest-serving ruler of Britain, leading for more than 70 years. She helped shape the royal family and was admired by people all over the world. In this article, we will learn about her life and look at some interesting postage stamps with her image.
The British Empire reached its peak in the early 20th century, covering almost a quarter of the world’s land area and ruling over a quarter of the global population. Around the same time, the UK became the first country to issue postage stamps, beginning with the Penny Black in 1840.
Penny Black
UK – 1840/05/01
Most of the early postage stamps featured the head of the reigning monarch.
Stamp Classics 2019 series
Queen Victoria stamp of 1891, King Edward VII stamp of 1910, King George V stamp of 1913,
King Edward VIII stamp of 1936, King George VI stamp of 1940, Queen Elizabeth II stamp of 1953
The beautiful Royal Mail Stamp Classics 2019 series showcase six stamp designs, each featuring one of the six rulers of the UK, from the issuance of the first stamp up until 2019.
“Great Britain’s Royal Mail is paying tribute to the history of its stamps, 150 years of organized philately and the 50th anniversary of the royal opening of one of the world’s finest philatelic museums with a set of six stamps being issued Jan. 15. The set, titled Stamp Classics, also celebrates the reigns of the six British monarchs who have ruled since the world’s first national adhesive stamp, the Penny Black, was issued in 1840.
The stamps honor the 150th anniversary of one of the world’s most prestigious organizations devoted to philately, the Royal Philatelic Society London, as well as acknowledging the 50th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s formal opening of what today is known as the Postal Museum.” - www.linns.com
Queen Elizabeth II, born Elizabeth Alexandra Mary on April 21, 1926, ruled from February 6, 1952, until her passing on September 8, 2022. Given her historic 70-year reign, it’s no surprise that many stamps were issued featuring her portrait.
Wilding Definitives Collection
UK – 2002/02/06
The Wildings were a set of regular postage and tax stamps that showed a photograph of Queen Elizabeth II taken by Dorothy Wilding.
Note: Dorothy Wilding was a well-known British photographer who took the famous photo of Queen Elizabeth II. This photo was used on UK postage stamps during the early years of her reign, including the Wilding series.
These stamps were used from December 1952, when they were the first UK stamps issued during her reign, until decimalisation in 1971.
During the reign of Queen Elizabeth II over 200 stamps featuring her portrait were issued. We’ve already mentioned Wilding Series, and in this article, we’ve talks about UK Machin Stamps.
Queen Elizabeth II – Pre decimal Machin Stamp
UK – 1967/06/05
4 d (British penny)
Queen Elizabeth II – Pre decimal Machin Stamp
UK – 1967/08/08
1'6 s (British shilling)
The last stamp featuring Queen Elizabeth II's image was part of the "Platinum Jubilee" series, released in 2022 to celebrate her 70 years on the throne. These stamps, issued on May 31, 2022, showed different portraits of the Queen from various points in her life.
Her Majesty the Queens Platinum Jubilee
February 2020, London / October 1957, Washington / April 1980, Worcester / June 1978, London
May 2005, Alberta / June 1977, Camberwell / February 1966, St Vincent / June 1999, Windsor
This series featured a special design of the Queen’s portrait, created by Jody Clark, the official artist who designed the Queen's image on UK coins.
If you have some extra time, I would recommend that you take a look at this video:
Today, we continued discussing the kings and queens of Great Britain, this time focusing more on Queen Elizabeth II. She was definitely the central figure in the UK’s royal family during the 20th century, and she will likely remain one of the most famous rulers of Great Britain for a long time.
(Great Britain) Kings and Queens (and Philately)
Postal History: 1840 - The Penny Black
Postal History: The Penny Red and The Two Pence Blue
