British postal service unveils first stamps featuring King Charles III
By Issy Ronald, CNN Business
The first stamps featuring King Charles III were unveiled on Wednesday by the Royal Mail, the British postal service.
The King is captured in profile, his head bare, looking to the left. The standard first-class stamp will feature the portrait on a plain purple background.
“Delighted that the Royal Mail will be using my effigy of King Charles for their definitive stamps,” designer Martin Jennings tweeted, adding that the portrait was first created for the new coins featuring the monarch.
The stamps will go on general sale from April 4.
“The guidance we were given was not to try to be too clever or to veer off into some different direction but very much to keep that traditional image that we’re all very much used to,” David Gold, director of external affairs and policy at the Royal Mail, said, according to Reuters.
Queen Victoria was the first monarch to appear on a postage stamp, appearing on the world’s first ever stamp, known as the Penny Black, in 1840.
Five other British monarchs have featured on stamps since then, most recently Queen Elizabeth II, whose portrait became an iconic image, reproduced by artists such as Andy Warhol.
Coins featuring King Charles III entered circulation in December, while new banknotes are expected to be in use by mid-2024 as the UK begins introducing the new King’s image following his mother’s death in September.
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