Royalty
New Portrait of the Queen revealed by Royal Mail
Royal Mail’s first ever commissioned portrait of the Queen by Nicky Philipps
Royal Mail has unveiled its first ever commissioned portrait of Queen Elizabeth II to coincide with her 87th birthday yesterday. The new portrait by Nicky Philipps will be the centrepiece of a special 6-value stamp issue, ‘Six decades of Royal Portraits’ featuring the finest painted portraits of the Queen from the last sixty years.
A world-first for Royal Mail
Celebrated portrait artist Nicky Philipps was chosen for Royal Mail’s first ever commission after consultation with the National Portrait Gallery.
This isn’t the first time the artist has painted Royalty – in 2010, Nicky painted the first ever double portrait of Princes William and Harry. She also painted the Duchess of Cambridge last year. The new portrait, featuring the Queen in her Garter robes, was painted over three sittings at Buckingham Palace during the autumn of 2012.
Six of the best
The 1st class stamp featuring the new portrait of the Queen will be issued, along with five other Coronation Anniversary painted portrait stamps, on 30th May to mark this year’s 60th anniversary of her Coronation.
2nd class stamp
Terence Cuneo was the official artist for the Queen’s Coronation in 1953. It proved to be a highlight of his career, bringing his work to the forefront of the public’s attention. The Queen is wearing the Imperial State Crown in this portrait.
78p stamp
One of two life-size portraits of the Queen by Andrew Festing painted in 1999 for the Royal Hospital in Chelsea where it still hangs today. It depicts the Queen wearing robes for the State Opening of Parliament and the Diadem Crown.
88p stamp
This romantic portrayal of the young Elizabeth taken in 1956 earned Italian portrait and fresco painter Pietro Annigoni huge international acclaim on its release. It remains arguably the most iconic portrait of the Queen’s reign.
£1.28 stamp
Taken from the 8ft tall ceremonial portrait by Sergei Pavlenko in 2000 depicting the Queen in her Garter robes. The portrait was personally unveiled by the Queen herself and is reported to be her favourite since the Coronation.
£1.88 stamp
This 1992 painting by Richard Stone involved seven one-hour sittings with the Queen at Buckingham Palace. Unveiled at the National Portrait Gallery in 1992 to mark 40 years since her accession, it currently hangs in the Town Hall of the artist’s home town of Colchester.
Antarctica issues new Queen Elizabeth Land Stamps – just in the nick of time!
When William Hague announced that part of British Antarctica would be renamed ‘Queen Elizabeth Land’ in honour of Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee, little did he know it would be the start of a race against time for one of the world’s smallest and most remote postal administrations!
Against the odds
The gesture put this tiny island in the South Pole – one of the UK’s 14 British overseas territories – back on the map. For the British Antarctic Post Office, the opportunity to issue new commemorative stamps was not to be missed even though it presented some very big challenges!
With no telephone, internet, running water or electricity, daily life in this inhospitable region can be difficult at the best of times. And as the island can only be accessed during its summer months of October to March, there was also a deadline to beat …
79 days and counting
Following the Foreign Secretary’s announcement on 18th December 2012, in order to issue the new Queen Elizabeth Land stamps before October 2013, they had to be designed, approved, printed and on board the last ship from the Falklands to Antarctica by 7th March. That gave them just 79 days!
It was going to be tight, but soon enough, stamp designs were submitted and approved by the relevant authorities, including the Queen herself, and the presses started rolling. Hot off the press, the first stamps were quickly taken to RAF Northolt to be airlifted to Port Stanley on the Falklands where the ship was waiting.
The finished cover featuring the new Queen Elizabeth Land Stamp
It had been a close shave but on 18th March, the new stamps arrived on Antarctica, ready to be affixed and postmarked, along with 495 exclusive First Day Covers which had also made the long journey south.
The Queen Elizabeth Land Commemorative Silver Coin Cover was later completed with a new silver proof crown, issued by the island’s Government also in celebration of the new name.
Now sold out.
Do you own a piece of 1953 Coronation memorabilia?
Well if you do if might feature on ‘A Celebration of Coronation Commemoratives,’ a new set of stamp sheetlets issued today to mark this year’s 60th anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation.
From china plates to postcards, biscuit tins to badges, ‘A Celebration of Coronation
Commemoratives’ is a stunning new tribute inspired by the work of Robert Opie
From Victoria to Elizabeth II
This definitive royal collection features 5 of history’s most recent monarchs – up to our present Queen and as far back as her great great grandmother, Queen Victoria.
Spanning 175 years of royal memorabilia from Victoria’s Coronation in 1838 to Elizabeth II’s 60th anniversary in 2013, the new collection of commemorative stamp sheetlets take their inspiration from consumer historian and royal devotee, Robert Opie who has spent a lifetime creating scrapbooks from royal memorabilia:
“The historic occasion of a royal coronation, of course, attracts a deluge of souvenirs, from the traditional ceramic mug to a set of commemorative stamps. Instinctively, we all want to keep a souvenir of such an event – a decorated tin, a jigsaw puzzle or just a royal picture postcard.”
A link to the past
But these sheetlets aren’t just colourful montages of Coronation keepsakes – they chart other royal celebrations such as births, weddings and jubilees. More than that, they provide a fascinating insight into what life was like in the past.
Queen Victoria whose incredible record of 63 years on the throne resulted in a vast amount of memorabilia from gin flasks and songs sheets to the more traditional china mugs and plates. Collectively, they paint of picture of Industrial Britain at the height of the Empire.
The new sheetlets feature Queen Victoria and Elizabeth II, the only two monarchs ever to have celebrated a Diamond Jubilee
A boom industry
For the Coronations of Edward VII in 1902 and George V in 1911, royal souvenirs had become big business. An abundance of items like chocolate, biscuit, tea and tobacco tins were widely available as were postcards.
1937 saw the crowning of George VI and a wider range of branded souvenirs such as Cusson’s talcum powder, Cadbury’s and Fry’s. As you might expect, his older brother doesn’t feature as he abdicated before he was crowned (unfortunately, souvenirs for Edward’s coronation had already been produced by the time he made his shock announcement).
The ultimate tribute
A ‘Celebration of Coronation Commemoratives’ is issued by seven British overseas territories – Bermuda, Tristan da Cunha, Isle of Man, Cook Islands, St Helena and Bahamas – with each country issuing 1 Souvenir Sheet and 5 Commemorative Sheetlets. The first sets are released today to coincide with the anniversary of the Queen’s accession in 1952, the others follow later in the month.