At the start of the year we saw the brand new limited edition cover that was issued to celebrate the beginning of the Queen’s 90th Birthday year. Queen Elizabeth II has now surpassed Queen Victoria to become our Longest Reigning Monarch and this limited edition commemorative cover featured Royal Mail’s official Crown Jewels stamps, hand-stamped with an official one-day-only commemorative postmark dated 1st January 2016.
On the 21st April 2016 we will see another stamp issue that will officially commemorate the Queen’s 90th birthday. There will be six stamps issued in total, three of which will depict the official work that she carries out and the other three which will showcase aspects of her family life. Of particular significance in this collection is a stamp featuring the Queen with her father, which has never featured on a Royal Mail stamp before.
The other family-related stamps depict The Queen with her children and one with the Duke of Edinburgh to celebrate their long marriage and partnership.
The stamps that have been created to commemorate The Queen’s official duties depict the state opening of parliament, the Head of the Commonwealth where she is shown with Nelson Mandela and a state visit to New Zealand to represent the over 100 state visits she has made since she came to reign.
These stamps are sure to be highly sought after and will form another important part of British stamp history.