What happens to stamps after Queen Elizabeth II dies?
STAMPS will look very different following the death of the Queen.
The vast majority of stamps for the past 70 years have featured Queen Elizabeth II.
The Queen reigned from 1952, so most people will only remember seeing the Queen’s face on a letter.
The same profile of the Queen by Arnold Machin, who originally created it as a sculpture, has been on our stamps for more than 50 years.
It was issued in 1967 and has been unchanged for decades.
The Queen is shown facing left, wearing a diamond diadem, as she does when travelling to the State Opening of Parliament.
Read more on the Queen
The design will be updated once King Charles ascends to the throne – but there’s no idea how quickly this will happen.
The Queen’s coronation took place in February 1952 and stamps with her portrait started to appear later that year.
What happens to stamps with the Queen’s face on?
The current circulating designs will be discontinued and a new design that represents the new head of state will replace them.
But it won’t happen straight away.
You will still be able to use any stamps you have with the Queen’s face for a while.
When the Queen’s father George VI passed away, the first stamps of her reign started to appear in late 1952.
A miniature silhouette of the monarch’s head is depicted on all stamps.
The royal cypher will also change.
This is a monogram used by the reigning monarch and typically contains their initials.
Queen Elizabeth used ER as her monogram, which can be seen in some stamps.
What will King Charles’ stamps look like?
The new style stamps will of course feature King Charles.
It is not yet known what image Prince Charles will choose.
We will update this article when we know more.