First Stamps With King Charles III’s Silhouette Are Unveiled With Flowers

The next era is about to come into bloom via a set of Special Stamps, which are the first to showcase the silhouette of King Charles III.

While the Royal Mail has previously presented regular first and second class stamps bearing the image of the new monarch, those designs won’t be released until the existing ones with the Queen’s head have been exhausted. This likely means the recently-announced Special Stamps will be the first to be used by the public.

Flowers is also the first to sport a silhouette, rather than an embossed side profile, and marks the first silhouette change since 1968.

Here, the King’s image is pictured alongside photographs of some of the most beloved flowers grown in UK gardens—namely the sweet pea, iris, lily, sunflower, fuchsia, tulip, peony, nasturtium, rose, and dahlia. 

King Charles III is a lover of nature, making the Flowers set all the more significant as debut stamps.

His profile was conceptualized to be stamp-size-friendly by illustrator Andrew Davidson, with the help of Royal Mail’s head of design and editorial Marcus James, and Ian Chilvers of design agency Atelier Works. The graphic was then digitized and polished to work as an everyday stamp.

Charles chose to be depicted without headwear so as to appear relatable to his people.

“Britain is a nation of gardeners, and a love of flowers runs deep in our collective consciousness,” explains David Gold, Director of External Affairs & Policy at the Royal Mail, in a press release. “His Majesty is known to be a passionate gardener, and we are delighted that the first Special Stamps to feature his silhouette should be a celebration of some of the most popular flowers in British gardens.”

[via Cosmopolitan UK, The Guardian, International Distribution Services, images via various sources]