The Royal Philatelic Collection is said to be the finest and most comprehensive collection of postage stamps of Great Britain and the Commonwealth.  Stamp collecting was extremely popular in the nineteenth century, attracting numerous enthusiasts, including the princes of the Royal Family. Queen Victoria’s second son, Alfred, was a keen philatelist. George V was given Prince Alfred’s collection and integrated a small part of it into his own. An accomplished collector, one of the greatest of his time, he made the Royal Philatelic Collection what it is today.

Subsequent members of the Royal Family, including Queen Elizabeth II, continued to preserve and develop the Collection. Today it is housed in high-security, carefully regulated conditions in St. James's Palace in London, and since 2003, is looked after by Michael Sefi, Keeper of the Royal Philatelic Collection. Her Majesty continues to expand and enhance the Collection with new stamps and occasional purchases of rare historical items.

While the strength of the Collection lies in its completeness, there are many individual highlights, such as rarities from the earliest days of stamp usage in Great Britain, stamp designs, proofs, colour trials and other artifacts.

Unlike the Crown Jewels and the Royal residences, which belong to the nation, the Royal Philatelic Collection is privately owned by The Queen.

The Royal Philatelic Collection is not on general public display, since much of its contents are fragile. However, Her Majesty has shared the Collection with wide audiences by kindly giving permission for selections to be shown at major exhibitions.

History of the Royal Philatelic Collection

In 1856, the Prince of Wales, who later became King Edward VII, and his younger brother Prince Alfred were given panes of new sixpence stamps. Alfred soon became a serious philatelist, gathering a collection and serving as Honorary President of what is now the Royal Philatelic Society London from 1890 until his death in 1900.

Alfred sold his collection to his older brother, Edward VII, who in turn gave it to his son, the Duke of York, later Prince of Wales and King George V from 1910 to 1936. This keen philatelist was elected Honorary Life Vice-President of the Philatelic Society, London in 1893. That same year, fellow members gave him an album of nearly 1,500 postage stamps as a wedding present. In 1896, he became Executive President of what became the Royal Philatelic Society London, a position he held until he came to the Throne in 1910. King George V remained an avid collector until his death, and today his collection is housed in 328 red albums of some 50 pages each — nearly 20,000 pages of stamps.

His successor Edward VIII, who succeeded to the throne in 1936, later abdicated and became the Duke of Windsor, passed the Collection to his brother, King George VI. The new King did not have George V's specialized knowledge; he did take considerable interest in the Collection. George VI continued to expand the Collection with presented and purchased material. His most notable contribution was probably made when he decided to protect the Collection from bombing during the Second World War by storing it in the vaults of Lloyds Bank in London.

Queen Elizabeth II has also added a considerable volume of stamps and other philatelic material since succeeding to the throne in 1952. Her Majesty’s acquisitions are kept in green albums and boxes, although much has yet to be mounted. It’s estimated that there is enough material to fill another 2,000 albums or boxes.

Highlights of the Royal Philatelic Collection

• The Royal Philatelic Collection contains many examples of the world’s first postage stamps, issued by Britain in 1840. These include the image of Queen Victoria printed in black ink (Penny Blacks) and in blue (Twopenny Blues). Among the best examples from this period is the Kirkcudbright cover, featuring a block of 10 Penny Blacks mailed on May 6, 1840. This is the largest multiple known on a first day cover, and was acquired by The Queen in 2001.
  
  

  Making a good impression This imprimatur impression was taken from the first Penny Black sheet printed from Plate 1. Imprimatur impressions are the equivalents of today’s registration sheets — the first impressions taken from an approved plate to determine the quality of the impression. The word imprimatur is Latin for “let it be printed”.

  
  
• The Collection also features another example of the postal reforms of 1840, pre-paid stationery known as Mulreadys, named after the man who designed the fanciful but unpopular prepaid letter sheets and envelopes.
  
  

  Spooner’s sketch This caricature, done in pencil and coloured in, was created by William Spooner, a London stationer whose business was threatened by the introduction of the Mulready stationery. It features Queen Victoria sitting on a lion, showering her subjects with letters. A satirical depiction of the Penny Black appears in the lower-right corner.

  
  
• George V was not only an avid stamp collector, he also took a great interest in stamp design. Once printers had used the stamp-sized artists' sketches he had approved, he would usually ask for them to be added to the Collection.
  
  
• More modern highlights include designs for stamps commemorating Queen Elizabeth II's coronation in June 1953, and a collection of pioneer airmail flight envelopes from Canada.