The Royal Mail will pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, who died on September 8, through four new stamps adorned with portraits of the monarch. These portraits, which were validated by King Carlos III himself, were unveiled this week pending the sale, scheduled for November 10.
The four portraits show the Queen over the decades, from 1952 to 1996. The first category stamp features a photograph of Elizabeth in 1968. This is by Cecil Beaton, a famous British fashion photographer. The second-rate stamp features a 1952 photograph taken by Dorothy Wilding, known for her royal family portraits frequently used on stamps.
Four black and white portraits
The third category stamp uses a snapshot taken in 1984 by Yousuf Karsh, an Armenian-born artist considered one of the masters of black-and-white film photography. The fourth stamp features a portrait taken in 1996 by Tim Graham, the Royal Family’s official photographer for several years. Each stamp is in black and white.
“For 70 years, all British postage stamps have been personally endorsed by Her Majesty,” Royal Mail chief executive Simon Thompson said in a statement.
“Today we present these stamps, the first to be approved by His Majesty the King, in tribute to a woman whose commitment to service and public duty was unparalleled in the history of this country.”
Soon replaced by Carlos III
The face of the new King Charles III will begin to appear on coins and banknotes in the United Kingdom and other countries around the world, replacing the profile of Queen Elizabeth II.
His effigy will also appear on several other coins used in the Eastern Caribbean, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The same is true of the Channel Islands of Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man, as well as Gibraltar, Saint Helena and the Falklands, islands and territories controlled by the British Crown.
The face of Isabel II that appears on the stamps will give way to that of Carlos. And the EIIR monogram, of Isabel II Regina, pasted on mailboxes or police helmets, will also be modified.
Source: BFM TV
