21 April 2016
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Queen's 90th birthday
As the country prepares to mark the ninetieth birthday of Queen Elizabeth II in true British style with street parties, concerts and parades, we take a look at the stamps Royal Mail has issued to mark the birthday of the world’s oldest reigning monarch.
As the country prepares to mark the ninetieth birthday of Queen Elizabeth II in true British style with street parties, concerts and parades, we take an in-depth look at the stamps Royal Mail has issued to mark the birthday of the world’s oldest reigning monarch.
As Britain’s longest reigning monarch, the Queen is one of the most photographed people in the world and millions of articles and books have been written about her over the years. This wealth of information and the Queen’s many achievements and landmark moments left Royal Mail designers with the challenge of summing up the Queen’s life and reign in six stamps, released to mark her birthday on 21 April.
The stamps
Royal Mail has created its own ‘first’ with this release of these celebratory stamps; one of which features the first ever portrait of the Queen and her father George VI to appear together on a stamp. The six stamps are divided into two themes – the Queen’s family life and her role as monarch. As well as the stamp showing the Queen, aged around four, with her father (1st) she is also shown with her husband Prince Philip (£1.52), whom she met at the age of thirteen and with her two eldest children – Prince Charles and Princess Anne (1st).
The other three stamps feature colour photos of the Queen as Head of State at the Opening of Parliament (1st), on a state visit to New Zealand in 1977 (£1.52) – one of more than 100 state visits she has made during her reign – and in her role as Head of Commonwealth, where she is pictured on a £1.52 value with Nelson Mandela in 1996.
Stamp details
HM The Queen’s Ninetieth Birthday
Issue date: 21 April 2016
Design: Kate Stephens
Size: 37mm x 35mm
Printer: International Security Printers
Print process: Lithography
Perforations: 14 x 14.5
Phosphor: Bars as appropriate
Gum: PVA
1st – The Queen and King George VI
1st – The Queen with Prince Charles and Princess Anne
1st – The Queen and Prince Philip
£1.52 – Elizabeth II at the State Opening of Parliament
£1.52 – Elizabeth II on a state visit to New Zealand
£1.52 – Elizabeth II with Nelson Mandela
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