The Stuarts

The Stuart dynasty reigned for more than a century and is commemorated by this special issue of 11 stamps. Each of the seven monarchs of the Royal House is depicted, and a Miniature Sheet of four stamps features key personalities and events of the era.


This is the fourth in the Kings & Queens series of stamp issues which profiles every monarch from 1399 to the present day.

The fourth in Royal Mail’s Kings & Queens series takes a look at the Stuart dynasty that reigned over the British Isles from the union of the crowns of England and Scotland in 1603.

The Stuarts had already ruled Scotland for over two centuries before inheriting the English throne and established a reputation as both ambitious and accident-prone: of nine monarchs, six had died violently.

The Stuart age was probably the most calamitous that the British have ever known, but despite all the turmoil and insurrection, during this time the foundations were laid for the modern constitutional, religious and scientific environment of the British.

Their reign began when Elizabeth I of England, the last of the Tudors, died childless in 1603. The succession fell to King James VI of Scotland as he was the great grandson of Henry VIII’s sister Margaret Tudor.

Following the union of the crowns between England and Scotland he became James I of England and the House of Stuart was to reign over the United Kingdom until the death of Queen Anne in 1714.

James I (VI of Scotland) is the only monarch to feature twice in the Kings & Queens series, having previously appeared in the House of Stewart set issued earlier this year.

The House of Stuart stamp issue was designed by Atelier Works who also designed the previous Kings & Queens issues the Houses of Lancaster and York, House of Tudor and House of Stewart.
It comprises of seven stamps featuring contemporary portraits of the monarchs featured and a miniature sheet of four stamps featuring significant individuals and events from the Stuart period.

The events featured on the Miniature Shee are: William Harvey, the English physician who first described the circulation of blood, The English Civil War Battle of Naseby from 1645, poet John Milton author of Paradise Lost and the architect and dramatist John Vanbrugh, who’s best know work includes Blenheim Palace.

Miniature Sheet

The Miniature Sheet is made up of four new stamps (1st, 60p, 88p and 97p) featuring events and individuals from the reign of the House of Stuart. Featured is William Harvey the physician who first described the circulation of the blood, the Battle of Naseby one of the decisive battles of the English Civil Wars, poet John Milton and architect and dramatist John Vanburgh. The border design features a timeline of the period.

Presentation Pack No. 443 – Kings & Queens, the House of Stuart

The lavishly illustrated Presentation Pack contains the seven Kings & Queens stamps and the Miniature Sheet on a separate designed carrier. Within the pack noted historian Professor Ronald Hutton looks at some of the tumultuous events of the Stuart’s reign including the Gunpowder Plot, the English Civil Wars, the Plague, the Great Fire of London and the Glorious Revolution. The pack was designed by Atelier Works and printed by Walsall Security Printers.

Stamp Cards

Twelve postcards bearing enlarged images of each of the Kings & Queens, House of Stuart stamps and the Miniature Sheet go on sale about a week before the stamp issue date. Printed by Fulmar Colour Printing Company.

Feature	Type/Detail
Number of stamps	Seven
Design	Atelier Works
Acknowledgements	James VI and I, c.1606, John De Critz, reproduced by permission of the Trustees of Dulwich Picture Gallery; Charles I (1600–49), 1635, Sir Anthony Van Dyck, The Royal Collection © 2010, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II RCIN 404420; Charles II (1630–85), c.1665–70, Sir Peter Lely, The Royal Collection © 2010, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II RCIN 401223; James II (1633–1701), c.1686, Nicolas de Largillière © National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London; William III (1650–1702), 1690, attributed to Sir Godfrey Kneller © courtesy of the Bank of England; Queen Mary II, 1677, Peter Lely © National Portrait Gallery, London; Queen Anne (1665–1714), c.1702–14, Sir Godfrey Kneller (1646?–1723), The Royal Collection © 2010, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II RCIN 405676
Stamp format	Portrait
Stamp size	27mm x 37mm
Printer	Cartor Security Printing, Meaucé, France
Print process	Lithography
Number per sheet	25/50
Perforations	14 x 14
Phosphor	Bars as appropriate
Gum	PVA

Feature	Type/Detail
Number of stamps	Four
Size of Sheet	123mm x 70mm
Design	Atelier Works
Acknowledgements	William Harvey portrait by an unknown artist © Royal College of Physicians, London; His Excellencie Sr Thomas Fairfax K, Generall of the forces raised by the Parliament, 1647, Edward Bower © Trustees of the British Museum; John Milton portrait by unknown artist, c.1629 © National Portrait Gallery, London; Castle Howard, Yorkshire: elevation of entrance front from Colen Campbell’s Vitruvius Britannicus (London, 1715) © RIBA Library Drawings Collection
Stamp format	Portrait
Stamp size	27mm x 37mm
Printer	Cartor Security Printing, Meaucé, France
Print process	Lithography
Perforations	14 x 14
Phosphor	Bars
Gum	PVA

Text © reproduced with the permission of Royal Mail Group Ltd. All rights reserved.