New royal silhouette on postage stamps: the first special stamps with the head of King Charles III. (74) are now being issued by the Royal Mail, according to bbc.com. The monarch appears on a set of popular garden flowers. According to the report, they may be the first stamps to be seen by the public with the monarch’s profile.
The head of Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022), who died in September, has adorned British commemorative stamps since 1968. The last issue of a new stamp set featuring her appeared in February.
The Royal Mail’s David Gold said the use of floral images for the new King Charles stamp set reflected the fact that the king was a “passionate gardener”, according to the BBC. Previously, the design for new regular stamps depicting King Charles was unveiled. However, these are only to be used once stocks of existing stamps showing the head of the late Queen have been exhausted.
The ten floral stamps, which feature a rose, dahlia, sunflower and fuchsia among others, are therefore likely to be the first featuring King Charles to be issued. They can already be pre-ordered and will officially be released next week.
While the regular new stamps featuring Charles will also be appearing soon, it will take some time to convert the money. The Bank of England has already designed banknotes featuring a portrait of King Charles III. presented. The new banknotes are expected to be in circulation by mid-2024. The Bank of England unveiled the design ahead of the monarch’s coronation on May 6. The King’s image will be on all four notes currently in circulation – the £5, £10, £20 and £50 notes.