Queen Elizabeth II showed the philatelist in her when she led the opening of the new headquarters of the Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL) in time of its 150th anniversary. Her Majesty is a known stamp collector herself, so she admired the beauty of the stamps displayed at the event.
The Queen visited the association and launched its new building. There, she met the members of the society and had a glimpse of its extensive collection, per Express.
Despite her many royal engagements, Queen Elizabeth looked in high spirits as she arrived at the place. She was greeted by the RPSL's members, while she shook hands and exchanged a few words with them before she started to roam around.
The monarch carefully inspected the stamps on display and listened to the history and meaning behind every design. She also stopped on the ground floor to see the display frames of the five previous leaders of the monarchy.
Queen Elizabeth then met a group of young stamp collectors and volunteers from all over the world. Before she left, she launched the new building and unveiled a plaque in the member's lounge.
Prince Andrew's mother is a known stamp collector and has a collection reportedly worth £100 million. She is also the patron of the said society. Among her most valuable stamps, she has the Mauritius Post Office stamp, which she allowed to be on display in a traveling exhibition in 2002 in celebration of her Golden Jubilee.
The Mauritius Post Office stamp alone is said to be worth £2 million. It was originally out in 1847 and the first stamp that a colonial post office ever issued.
According to Cosmopolitan, the collection initially started with Queen Victoria's second son, Prince Alfred, in 1864. It was then passed down through the members of the royal family.
Royal expert Phil Dampier told Fabulous that Queen Elizabeth is very proud of her collection. She often shows it to the visitors of Buckingham Palace. "The Queen loves showing her stamp collection to visitors, say heads of state who stay at Buckingham Palace," he revealed.
Her stamps are one of the queen's pride and joys. Queen Elizabeth doesn't only feel proud that she owns some of the world's most precious stamps, but she also manages to continue building a family treasure. "[She] feels she has done her father and previous monarchs who owned it proud," Dampier added.
