The Crowned Heads Of Europe

Dorothy: Oh please, Professor, why can't we go with you and see all the Crowned Heads of Europe?

Professor Marvel: Do you know any? Oh, you mean the... thing. Yes.

- The Wizard of Oz, 1939

In this thread, please post images of your stamps featuring portraits of European royals wearing their ceremonial headgear. But please DO NOT include stamps depicting other subjects (such as British Commonwealth pictorials) which happen to have an inset portrait of a monarch as a design element. Let's keep our focus here on "crowned heads!"

As a "head start," here are images of the nine engraved stamps in a set depicting portraits of kings of Portugal (first dynasty), designed by Portuguese artist António Lino (1914-1996), printed by Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co., and issued by Portugal on March 17, 1955, Scott Nos. 804-812. This set is also one of my favorites in my stamp collection.

- nethryk

Alfonso I, engraved by Philip Goodwyn Hall.


Sancho I, engraved by Philip Goodwyn Hall.


Alfonso II, engraved by Maxime Ferré.


Sancho II, engraved by Nigel Alan Dow.


Alfonso III, engraved by Robert George Godbehear.


Diniz, engraved by Robert George Godbehear.


Alfonso IV, engraved by Anthony Ronald Wild.


Pedro I, engraved by Nigel Alan Dow.


Ferdinand I, engraved by Robert George Godbehear.

I hope that this stamp qualifies for the topic, although I'm not sure HM Queen Victoria was wearing a proper crown...

Beautiful stamps!

I've been putting in the album the classical stamps of Luxembourg, so royalty has been on my mind recently. Unfortunately, the Grand Dukes and Duchesses of Luxembourg generally do not wear crowns, so by the constraints of the thread, they cannot be shown.

But here are a few earlier portraits when it was fashionable.


1932 Scott B50 10c (+5c) olive bister
"Countess Ermesinde"
Ermesinde was the Countess of Luxembourg between 1197-1247, and the only child of Henry IV, Count of Luxembourg and Namur.


1933 Scott B55 10c (+5c) yellow brown
"Count Henry VII"
From the House of Luxembourg, Count Henry VII was King of Germany, Holy Roman Emperor, and King of Italy variously during the years 1308-1313.


1937 Scott B79 10c (+5c) carmine & black
"Wenceslas II"
"Wenceslas II the Lazy" was a Duke of Luxembourg from 1383-1388. But he was also King of Germany (Holy Roman empire) between 1376-1400. He was also accused of "Futility, idleness, negligence, and ignobility", traits not usually desired in a King.

Jaume I (Montpelier, 1208 - València, 1277). Count of Barcelona, King of Aragon, València and Mallorca.

Stephen the Great, Prince of Moldavia.
Romania 1957, SC#1148



Guys don't wear crowns much anymore. Shame really.

Cursus, Jkjblue & jamesw - Thanks for your excellent contributions so far. Please keep 'em coming!

Cursus - Tiaras and such definitely qualify as royal headgear. When in doubt, please go ahead and post it.

Jkjblue - I'm glad you liked my Portugal set too. Thanks.

Here is an image of a stamp featuring a portrait of Princess Gina (Countess Georgine "Gina" Norberte Johanna Franziska Antonie Marie Raphaela von Wilczek, Princess consort of Liechtenstein, 1921-1989), designed by Austrian artist Josef Seger (1908-1998), engraved by Hans Ranzoni the Younger, and issued by Liechtenstein on December 6, 1960, Scott No. 357.

- nethryk

Here is an image of an engraved stamp featuring a profile portrait of Saint Stephen I (c. 967-1038), Grand Prince of the Hungarians (997–1000) and the first King of Hungary (1000–1038), issued by Hungary on August 1, 1928 as one of a set of three similar stamps commemorating the 890th anniversary of Saint Stephen's death, Scott No. 424.

- nethryk

Here are images of the four stamps in a set featuring portraits of Queen Victoria (1819-1901) at various ages, and commemorating significant people and events during her long reign, combined engraved by Czeslaw Slania (backgrounds) and photogravure, and issued by Great Britain on September 8, 1987, Scott Nos. 1188-91.

- nethryk

Here are images of the two stamps in a set featuring portraits of Richeza of Lotharingia (c. 995/1000-1063), Queen of Poland, and of her son, Casimir I the Restorer (1016-1058), a Duke of Poland of the Piast dynasty and the de facto monarch of the entire country from 1034 until his death. Both stamps were designed by Polish artist Stefan Malecki, engraved by (respectively) Jan M. Kopecki and Piotr Naszarkowski, and issued by Poland on December 4, 1988, Scott Nos. 2884 & 2885.

- nethryk

Princess Grace, engraved by Czeslaw Slania, and issued by Monaco on April 29, 1996, Scott No. 1997.

- nethryk

Fernán González (died 970), Count of Castile, engraved by Antonio Manso Fernández, and issued by Spain on January 27, 1972, Scott No. 1700, Edifil No. 2073.

- nethryk

Philip IV (1268-1314), called the Fair, was King of France from 1285 until his death. Here is an image of a stamp depicting King Philip presiding over a meeting of the Estates-General in 1302, designed and engraved by Albert Decaris, and issued by France on November 16, 1968, Scott No. 1228, Y&T No. 1577.

- nethryk

Here is an image of a stamp featuring a portrait of Princess Elisabeth (Elsa) Erös von Bethlenfalva (von Gutmann) (1875-1947), designed (a similar stamp had been issued in 1935) by Austrian artist Hermann Clemens Kosel (1867-1945), engraved by Ferdinand Lorber, and issued by Liechtenstein on December 10, 1947 in memory of the princess, Scott No. 226.

- nethryk

To encourage more participation in this thread, I would like to expand the definition of "crowned heads" to include stamps featuring portraits of royals along with depictions of crowns as design elements. (But please, still no pictorials!) For example:

Here are images of the two stamps in a set featuring a portrait of Maud Charlotte Mary Victoria of Wales (1869-1938), Queen of Norway as the wife of King Haakon VII, designed and engraved by Knut Løkke-Sørensen, and issued by Norway on November 29, 1969 to commemorate the queen's birth centenary, Scott Nos. 549 & 550, Facit Nos. 625 & 626.

- nethryk

Apologies for lack of info to go with the stamps, Nethryk you always put me to shame with your accompanying facts