New Royal Mail stamps bearing the profile of the King will go on general sale from today – marking a key milestone in the monarch’s reign.
It comes a day after a rise in stamp prices – with first class increasing by 15p to £1.10 and second class rising by 7p to 75p.
The King’s image features on first and second class stamps and shows his head and neck in the style of the late Queen, and all British monarchs since Queen Victoria.
In keeping with stamp tradition, the King faces to the left – but unlike the Queen’s stamp, he is not wearing a crown.
The same image, of a profile sculpture made by artist Martin Jennings, was used by the Royal Mint to make coins. An image of the sculpture was adjusted and relit for use on the new stamps.
It marks the first time the King’s likeness has been featured on stamps following the death of his mother last September.
But some retailers may not be offering the new stamps if stocks featuring the Queen have not completely sold out.
The King guided Royal Mail to keep the style consistent and to use up existing stamps featuring the Queen rather than pulping them.
“The guidance we got from His Majesty was more about continuity and not doing anything too different to what had gone before,” Royal Mail’s director of external affairs and policy said earlier this year.
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“I think perhaps there’s an acknowledgement that, for 70 years people have been so used to seeing the image of Her Majesty, even though actually the current image only started in 1967, they didn’t want to do anything too different to what had gone before,” David Gold said.
He added: “The King gave very clear directions he didn’t want anything to be pulped, he didn’t want things being shredded, he didn’t want stock being thrown away.
“He was very clear, however long it takes you to clear the stock, there’s no rush.”
The world’s first stamp – known as the Penny Black – was issued in 1840 and bore Queen Victoria’s image.
