British Monarch: Jubilee: Royal Mail with Eight Queen Stamps

British monarch
Jubilee: Royal Mail with eight Queen stamps

The Royal Mail is celebrating Queen Elizabeth II’s (95) platinum anniversary on the British throne with eight new stamps.

The stamps show the monarch at various public appearances over the decades – at the side of her husband Prince Philip in Washington in 1957, at a military parade in 1978 or in 2020 during a visit by the secret service MI6.

This Sunday marks 70 years since Elizabeth became Queen. Her father George VI. died on February 6, 1952, leaving his eldest daughter at the age of 25 to succeed him.

The Queen through the ages

The oldest photos are in black and white, the rest in colour. The PA news agency stressed the images also show the Queen’s changing fashions over the years. “These stamps are a celebration of the second Elizabethan era and a tribute to a remarkable life of duty and public service,” said Royal Mail chief Simon Thompson. Unlike usual, the stamps, each worth £1.70 (2 euros), do not feature a profile of the Queen – because the Queen is in view anyway, this usual requirement is omitted. The postal service also issued special stamps for the 25th, 50th and 60th anniversary of the throne.

The deadline for the 70th anniversary is already next Sunday. The biggest celebrations are not until the beginning of June – because of the probably better weather. Then, among other things, a big concert, a military parade and a thanksgiving service are planned. There is an additional non-working holiday for the subjects.

Baking Contest

Apart from that, events in honor of the Queen are planned again and again. The deadline for participating in a nationwide baking competition ends on Friday evening: bakers aged 8 and over were called upon to create a dessert called “Platinum Pudding”. The task follows the tradition of creating a pastry or dessert in honor of royal celebrations.

dpa