Queen’s Sapphire Jubilee: Royal Mail issue blue £5 stamp to mark 65 years on throne

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The stamp marks 65 years since Princess Elizabeth became Queen

The stamp marks 65 years since Princess Elizabeth became Queen following the death of her father George VI on February 6, 1952.

Sapphire is the 65th anniversary gemstone and the stamp features the colour of the precious item.

Last year, the Royal Mail issued a series of 10 stamps to mark her 90th birthday, with Prince George featuring on a stamp for the first time.

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The stamp features the colour of the precious 65th anniversary gemstone, sapphire

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My whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service

Queen Elizabeth II

The Royal Mint is to mark the anniversary with Sapphire Jubilee uncirculated coins struck in a range of metals and denominations from a £5, £10 and £500 to a gold £1,000.

The recommended retail prices for the commemorative coins range from £13 for the brilliant un-circulated £5 piece to £49,995 for the £1,000 UK gold proof kilo coin – expensive but not to be the most valuable coin produced by the Royal Mint.

All the coins feature the Queen’s image in profile on the main side but the £5 range has the imperial state crown on the reverse, and an excerpt from Princess Elizabeth’s famous speech where she dedicates herself to her future role as Queen.

GETTY

Buckingham Palace reissued a photo of the Queen taken by David Bailey

It reads: “My whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service.”

Glyn Davies, designer of the £5 range, said: “I drew inspiration from the regalia associated with the Queen’s coronation.

Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in pictures
Tue, January 31, 2017

Photographs from the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II which took place on June 2 1953.

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Queen Elizabeth II poses with the royal sceptre 02 June 1953 after being crowned

“As opposed to many traditional designs, I’ve rotated the crown to make a feature of the Stuart sapphire.

“I have also included a quotation from Her Majesty’s 21st birthday speech, which makes the design more personal. I used computer-aided design to create the inscription, but sculpted elements of the crown in clay.”

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