No Queen Image On UK Stamps

I'm in London on holiday and purchased some intern'l postcard rate stamps. Very pretty with scenes of the major sites in the city like St Paul's and Parliament. Happened to notice that the Queen's picture is absent from these stamps and wondered why. I thought all UK stamps were required to have an image of the sovereign on them. Why no Queen Elizabeth II on these?

Good question.

Don't tell me that she has been dethroned? <G>

I wonder if it was in error?

Chimo

Bujutsu

Can you take a pic? Would love to see what you are talking about.

Could be the Universal Mail (UK) privately produced stamps.

As far as I know all ROYAL MAIL stamps are required to have an image of the queen. Private courier, perhaps?

Looks like Scotzm nailed it on the head.

What Scotzm said !
Keep a few unused too because they may become scarce !

Enjoy the trip.

Londonbus1

Valid for international mail only, there is more information courtesy of Norvic Philatelics at :

http://www.norphil.co.uk/articles/u..._uk_info.htm

Or better yet used on cover.

Enjoy your holiday!

That looks to me as if its a postcard. To send one, one must have applied Royal Mail Postage stamps....which does have the Sovereigns head on :0

Another reference explaining the use of these stamps, showing many of the Universal Mail stamps, none with the Queen's image on them:

http://commonwealthstampsopinion.bl...-stamps.html

I like the way you think.

phil_ately said "That looks to me as if its a postcard. To send one, one must have applied Royal Mail Postage stamps....which does have the Sovereigns head on :0"

These are actual stamps...sold in strips of five, they are valid for international useage only. An agreement with Royal Mail means they are processed by RM.
I believe they started with around 10 issues but, like most stamp issuing entities they have progressed into the thirty plus per year.

Apart from being issued for International mail use, these stamp issues seem to be purposely marketed as collectors items, along the lines currently employed by Royal Mail for their numerous and frequently awful issues. I was advised early on in my collecting endeavours to shun anything marketed as a "collectors item". That advice, and the clearly awful designs of these stamps rules them out for me. I shall continue to spend my huckleberries on the early British and United States classics. I shall almost certainly have fewer stamps in my collection that way, but they will oh so much nicer to behold.

Terry

Edited for omission. TC.

I like this series only for the Flags and they form a nice page in that collection. They also make me feel homesick !

The first series' in mint condition are now scarce which is why I answered the original poster in such a way. Some of the prices being asked are quite high.
I do have some on cover but only one got a cancel. This has nothing to do with the issue itself, as most UK mail I receive does not get a cancellation.

Londonbus1

A used example has already been shown here on SCF...

https://goscf.com/t/8424

It's a London bus with Mount Pleasant p/mark.