Her Majesty the Queen
King Charles III awards Maundy Money for the first time as reigning monarch
Maundy Thursday is an Easter tradition that dates back to 1622 during the reign of Charles II. The tradition involves the monarch gifting members of the public special coins as part of a special ceremony.
His Majesty attends his first Maundy Service as King
Today, King Charles III attended his first Maundy service as reigning monarch at York Minster. Hundreds of people lined the streets approaching the Minster, many arriving before 7am to get a front row spot.
Credit: The Royal Family on Twitter
The King and Queen Consort, Camilla arrived at the cathedral around 11am and preceded to award specially minted coins to 148 people in recognition of their work for their church and community. The service concluded with the national anthem and a blessing.
What coins were awarded?
The coins awarded included a white purse containing silver Maundy coins equivalent in value to the age of the King. Also awarded was a red purse containing two commemorative coins.
Credit: The Royal Family on Twitter
This year, the commemorative coins gifted were a £5 coin issued to celebrate His Majesty’s upcoming 75th birthday and a 50p coin marking the 75th anniversary of the Windrush Generation. Both of these coins featured in the 2023 Annual Coin Set, which caused record breaking sell outs at the Royal Mint.
Within just 16 minutes of release, the Silver Proof and Silver Piedfort specifications of the 2023 Annual Set were no longer available to order at The Royal Mint. Other premium limited specifications sold out in less than an hour.
The 2023 Annual Coin Sets are still available in Brilliant Uncirculated quality, secure yours here >>
Queen’s Reign coin honours traditional Maundy money
The 2022 Queen’s Reign £5 coin honouring Charity and Patronage featured a design of traditional Maundy money. This represented Queen Elizabeth II’s advocacy and support of more than 600 charities across the UK and Commonwealth during her incredible 70 year reign.
Secure yours in Brilliant Uncirculated quality >>
The end of an era: The final stamps of Queen Elizabeth II
Queen Elizabeth II has graced UK stamps for 70 years, but now we’re coming to the end of an era; Royal Mail have released their final commemorative stamp issue with the Queen’s silhouette, celebrating the centenary of the world’s most famous locomotive – Flying Scotsman.
So, before we steam ahead towards the BRAND-NEW Flying Scotsman editions, let’s take a look back at Queen Elizabeth II’s iconic 70-year reign in UK postage…
The beginning of Queen Elizabeth II stamps
1953 marked the beginning of Her Majesty’s Reign and the introduction of the Wildings – a series of definitive postage and revenue stamps featuring Dorothy Wilding’s portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, which were used up until 1967.
The first four stamps to be issued within this series were for Her Majesty’s 1953 Coronation, presented in the colours of Carmine-Red, Ultramarine, Deep Yellow-Green and Deep Grey-Blue.
Commemorative stamps were then introduced during the 1950s and early 1960s. However, the Postmaster General, Tony Benn, proposed a new criteria outlining what could appear on them. From 1965, it was decided that all GB stamps had to include a small silhouette of the Queen based on the coinage head of Mary Gillick, which then became the standard.
Two once-in-a-lifetime tributes
And now, Royal Mail have issued twelve commemorative editions featuring Flying Scotsman.
Not only are they the official UK stamps to mark the centenary of the world’s most famous locomotive, but they will also be the last to show the Queen’s silhouette after 70 years – marking two incredible moments in British history!
These nostalgic editions portray the steam locomotive travelling through North Yorkshire, Northumberland, Berwick-on-Tweed and London’s Victoria Station. Inspired by poster artwork from the 1920s and 1930s, Royal Mail’s spokesman David Gold intends for them to evoke “the golden age of steam travel”.
Your chance to celebrate both!
To pay tribute to such monumental moments in history, a limited-edition coin and stamp cover has been released, comprised of The Royal Mint’s Official UK 2023 Flying Scotsman £2 in Brilliant Uncirculated Quality along with Royal Mail’s BRAND-NEW Flying Scotsman stamps.
But considering these are the last UK stamps to feature Queen Elizabeth II, we are predicting insatiable demand – and we have already seen sell-outs at The Royal Mint for the Flying Scotsman coin range.
All steams ahead! Click here to secure one for your collection now >>
Your shortcut to becoming a Queen Elizabeth II stamp collector…
Queen Elizabeth II acceded to the throne on 6th February 1952. During her remarkable 70-year reign, she celebrated seven jubilees and was the first British monarch to receive a Platinum Jubilee. As our country’s longest reigning monarch, Her Late Majesty’s legacy cannot be overstated.
And today, a handful of collectors will be given a rare and unique opportunity to reflect on her most remarkable milestones with an exclusive ready-made collection. But considering how sought-after her commemoratives have become, this is why you don’t want to miss out…
Extraordinary demand for Her Majesty’s collectables
Queen Elizabeth II’s influence on the collecting world has been immeasurable. And nearly six months after her sad passing, we are still witnessing excessive demand for commemoratives of her reign.
In fact, her signed Christmas cards are being sold for thousands on the secondary market, and her official UK coins are now selling out years later!
So, here’s your opportunity to get ahead of the crowd and take a shortcut to becoming an official UK stamp collector with one click of a button…
The Official UK Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stamp Collection
This traditional piece is essential for any collection. At a time more poignant than ever to collect Her Majesty’s commemoratives, this is the perfect way to preserve her extraordinary legacy…
Comprised of the official UK stamps from her Silver, Golden, Diamond and Platinum Jubilee, this complete collection takes you on a journey through the most remarkable milestones of our longest reigning monarch.
Housed in a luxury folder preserving the stamps’ pristine condition, your collection dedicates an entire historical retelling of each Jubilee to all the special UK stamp sets released for each celebration in 1977, 2002, 2012 and 2022.
A shortcut to getting your stamp collection started
We are offering to do the hard-work for you by giving away this rare shortcut to becoming a serious stamp collector.
What’s more, this collection is the key to saving you precious time and pennies. So, take the shortcut and own the entire collection with one click of a button!
And considering Queen Elizabeth II collectables are scarcer than ever, this is the easiest way to secure the entire range of Jubilee stamps in one complete collection. But with just a handful of collections available, make sure you don’t miss out on securing such a unique traditional piece…