Britain’s Royal Mail has announced the release of a set of stamps
commemorating the upcoming Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine
Middleton.
The
stamps to mark the engagement and next month’s royal wedding will feature two
official portraits taken by renowned Peruvian fashion photographer Mario
Testino.
The photos were taken on
November 25, and showcase formal and informal poses. The formal image was taken
in the Council Chamber of St. James’s Palace, while the informal image captures
the couple in the Palace’s Cornwall room.
The stamps, approved by Queen Elizabeth II,
will be released on her birthday, April 21.
“We
are honoured to be celebrating this very special and historic occasion. We believe that this set of stamps will be
very popular with people both in the UK and
around the world,” Royal Mail’s Stephen Agar said in a press release.
This will also mark the third time Prince
William has graced a Royal Mail stamp. His first was to celebrate Queen
Elizabeth, the Queen’s Mother’s 100th birthday, and again to celebrate his 21st
birthday.
Prince
William is also the first grandchild of the Queen’s to have their wedding
commemorated in this way.
The stamp sheet consists of two first class
stamps and two more £1.10 stamps.
The Royal Mail’s Special Stamp program has
been in place for almost 50 years to commemorate and celebrate events and
anniversaries pertinent to UK
heritage.
The stamps can be viewed and pre-ordered at
the Royal Mail website: