Royal Mail showcases the Stamps of Queen Victoria

By David Hartwig

Great Britain’s Royal Mail honors Queen Victoria with a set of eight stamps and a souvenir sheet of four stamps in a Nov. 27 issue.

The set of eight stamps is presented in two horizontal se-tenant (side-by-side) strips of four, and each stamp is denominated at the first-class rate (currently £1.70). A souvenir sheet contains four additional first-class stamps.

Each stamp in the set of eight shows a stamp design from the Victorian era along with text giving a common description of the stamp featured. A watermark on the back of each stamp echoes the design from when the original stamp was issued. Royal Mail says this is the first time this feature has been used in its modern stamp program.

The stamps in one strip show the Penny Black (Scott 1), Two-Penny Blue (4), 6d Embossed (7) and 4d first letterpress (22). The other strip shows the 1s small letters (42), Penny Red (33), Penny Lilac (88) and 4d Jubilee (116).

Introduced in 1840, the Penny Black became the world’s first adhesive postage stamp and transformed everyday communication through prepaid mail. Its youthful portrait of Queen Victoria, taken from a medal made by Royal Mint chief engraver William Wyon, set a lasting design standard and cemented the issue’s status despite its brief period of use.

A Two-Penny Blue stamp issued a year later in 1841 offered a higher-rate option for heavier correspondence while retaining Victoria’s profile. Its design was similar to the Penny Black, but modifications to the ink, including the addition of white lines, helped distinguish it from earlier printings.

Among the more experimental designs, the 6d Embossed stamp of 1854 introduced raised impressions and distinct coloring to help differentiate values. Because these stamps were difficult to separate cleanly from their sheets, well-cut copies are now particularly scarce.

A major production shift arrived with the 4d surface-printed issue of 1855, the first surface-printed British stamp. De La Rue’s new method enabled larger print runs, more efficient perforation, and greater flexibility in design across the growing Victorian stamp range.

Overseas mail often relied on the high-value 1s “small letters” stamp of 1862, notable for its elegant engine-turned background and green coloring. The small corner letters, later replaced with larger styles, give this issue particular interest for collectors studying subtle print variations.

The Penny Red of 1864 dominated everyday correspondence in the mid-Victorian era. Letters added in all four corners helped to combat forgery and aid with identification. Despite being printed in vast quantities, the issue still offers a wealth of plate varieties.

A change in postal regulations prompted the Penny Lilac of 1881, printed in lilac ink and intended for both postage and revenue use. It quickly replaced the long-lived Penny Red as the standard definitive of Victoria’s later reign.

Celebrations for the Golden Jubilee brought forth the colorful green and brown 4d Jubilee stamp of 1887. Its bold two-color appearance marked a departure from earlier designs and has made it one of the most recognizable Victorian issues.

The stamps on the souvenir sheet show photographs of Queen Victoria in different periods of her reign, with two photographs from 1854, one from 1885 and one from 1896. The selvage of the sheet features a portrait of Victoria in her Diamond Jubilee regalia.

Royal Mail has showcased previously issued stamps on several stamps in recent years, some of which show the same stamps featured in the Nov. 27 issue. The Penny Black appears along with the 1840 Two-Penny blue stamp on a 2015 sheet of four (Scott 3393), and a 2016 stamp (3477) reproduces an early Penny Red. A 2019 miniature sheet shows Classic British Stamps (3802) and a 2024 issue celebrates 100 Years of Commemorative Stamps (4485-4494).

Steers McGillan Eves designed the 2025 stamps and souvenir sheet, which were all printed by Cartor Security Printers by lithography. Each of the two strips of stamps in the set of eight is available in sheets of 48 stamps (sold in panes of 24 at most postal outlets).

The stamps in the set of eight as well as on the souvenir sheet measure 27 millimeters by 37mm and are perforated gauge 14.

A prestige stamp book includes all 12 stamps from the set of eight and the souvenir sheet, plus a pane of five King Charles III definitive stamps unique to the issue. Two of the King Charles III definitives are denominated 1 penny, one is 2p, and one is £3.40. Text by historian Helen Rappaport explores Victoria’s life as a monarch, woman, wife and mother.

A separate stamp book contains four self-adhesive versions of the stamp showing the Penny Black.

A presentation pack contains all 12 stamps in the Stamps of Queen Victoria issue along with information on the history and development of Victorian stamps written by Douglas Muir, former senior curator of philately at the Postal Museum in London.

Royal Mail offers a first-day cover franked with the set of eight stamps, one franked with the souvenir sheet, and one franked with the pane of definitive stamps from the prestige stamp book.

All three FDC versions can be ordered with postmarks from either Tallents House or East Cowes in the Isle of Wight, where Queen Victoria often stayed. The Tallents House postmark shows an illustration of the Penfold hexagonal pillar box used during Queen Victoria’s reign, and the East Cowes postmark features Queen Victoria’s Royal Cipher.

A collector’s sheet with 10 stamps from the set of eight is available. Each stamp is paired with a label showing images relating to the stamp, such as first dies, trial prints, essays and diagrams.

Related products for the Stamps of Queen Victoria issue include coin covers and 13 postcards showing enlargements of the stamp designs and an image of the souvenir sheet.

Products in the Stamps of Queen Victoria issue can be ordered from Royal Mail’s website at www.royalmail.com/shop. Ordering information also is available from Royal Mail, Tallents House, 21 S. Gyle Crescent, Edinburgh, EH12 9PB, Scotland.

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