The Royal Family is famous around the world for their weird and wonderful habits and hobbies. Whether it's playing polo, driving carriages or grouse hunting, the royals do have some very exclusive and posh pastimes.
But did you know that even some of the most privileged of people in the world enjoy some of the same creature comforts as us? It seems stamp collecting has proved to be a therapeutic hobby for many royals across the ages. As normal as this sounds, in true royal fashion the family’s stamp collection is valued at a whopping £10 million. The Queen is the fifth royal to add to the world famous Royal Philatelic Collection, following on from its inauguration by Queen Victoria’s son, Prince Alfred in 1864.
The prince sold his collection to his brother, the future King Edward VII, who in turn gave it to his son, King George V and it subsequently passed down to King George VI and finally to the Queen.
Stamps first came into circulation on May 6, 1840 during the early reign of Queen Victoria when it cost only one penny to send a letter which weighed under half an ounce.
Of all the royal custodians, King George V was very dedicated to maintaining and growing the collection.
When he was still the Duke of York, Prince George was made the honorary Vice President of what would go on to become the Royal Philatelic Society of London in 1893.
He also received a book containing 1,500 stamps on the occasion of his wedding day to Princess Mary of Teck from his fellow society members.
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King George V's dedication to his hobby knew no bounds, and he even set the record for the highest price ever paid for a stamp.
In 1904, a courtier asked the Prince if he had seen “that some damned fool had paid as much as £1,450 for a single stamp”.
George replied, “Yes, I am that damned fool.” The enjoyment of stamp collecting passed from grandfather to granddaughter. Queen Elizabeth- who called King George V ‘Grandpa England’- inherited his 328 albums of stamps.
Royal expert Phil Dampier told Fabulous Digital : “ The Queen loves showing her stamp collection to visitors, say heads of state who stay at Buckingham Palace
"It is one of her pride and joys, not only because she owns some of the world’s most valuable stamps, but also because she has built on a family treasure and feels she has done her father and previous monarchs who owned it proud.”
The Queen hasn’t just left the collection as it was, she has added to it. The most rare and expensive addition was a Mauritian stamp which is valued at £2 million. It was shown in a travelling exhibition to celebrate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee in 2002.
The stamp is one of the most prized in the world and was issued by the colonial Post Office of Mauritius in 1847. The Queen also spent £250,000 on a unique set of 10 Penny Blacks which are dated from the first day that they came into circulation, May 6, 1840.
