The Depiction of Queen Elizabeth II - 2000-present Queen Elizabeth II Stamps
2000
The 2000 Queen's Birthday stamp featured a contemporary photograph with a montage of images from some of her visits to Australia. The photograph of the Queen was taken in 1996 at the 50th Royal Film Performance of the film "True Blue" in Leicester Square, London. The background photographs (left to right) are: Queen Elizabeth II at Sydney Town Hall for a civic reception during the Royal Family's 1970's visit: the young Queen in Canberra during 1954; and Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Menzies at Parliament House, Canberra, in 1963.
2001
In 2001 the Queen's Birthday stamp issued a contemporary photograph of the Queen taken in Glasgow, Scotland in 1999. The background texture is a script of the ‘ERII' motif, which is also used in the centre of the FDI postmarker. The silk background used in the pack, sheetlet and maximum cards emphasises the Queen's grace and femininity.
2002 Queen's Jubilee Issue
50th Anniversary of the Queen's Accession the Throne.
At the end of world war two, the health of King George VI started to deteriorate and Elizabeth and her husband undertook more public duties. When her father's illness forced him to abandon a tour to Australian and New Zealand in 1952, Elizabeth and Philip agreed to make the journey in his place. Only six days after leaving England King George VI died in his sleep. Elizabeth became the forty-second sovereign of England since the Norman conquest and the third monarch to accede to the throne whilst absent from Britain.
2003 Coronation Golden Jubilee
The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II took place on 2 June 1953 over 12 months after accession. Despite the death of the Queen's grandmother, Queen mary, on 24 March, the year 1953 seemed full of optimism and good omen in Britain. Rationing was finally abolished and on 29 May the successful conquest of Mount Everest by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tensing Norgay was hailed as a coronation tribute. Some proclaimed a second Elizabethan age was dawning.
2004 Royal Tour Jubilee
Royal tours have been a part of Australia's history since 1867, but it was not until Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by her husband the Duke of Edinburgh, arrived in Sydney on 3 February 1954, that a reigning monarch visited the country. During their eight weeks in Australia the royal couple visited numerous country towns and all capital cities except Darwin; made hundreds of speeches and travelled thousands of kilometres by road, rail and air.
2005
The Queen, together with the Duke of Edinburgh, visited Australia in March 2002 to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM), which was held in Queensland. The Queen attended the official Opening Ceremony and hosted a banquet for the Heads of Delegation the same evening. CHOGM 2002 was the largest meeting of international leaders ever held in Australia at that time. They represented about 25% of the world's nations and almost one third of its population. The purpose of CHOGM is to facilitate the exchange of ideas and information across cultures and communities. The common goal is to improve the futures of the people of the Commonwealth of Nations.
2006 Queen's 80th Birthday
The year 2006 marked the 80th birthday of her Majesty Queen Elizabeth 11 and the 50th anniversary of the Pietro Annigoni portrait, considered one of the most beautiful portraits of the Queen. To honour the occasion, the 2006 Queen's Birthday stamp issue featured the portrait as well as the photographic portrait taken at the same time by renowned English photographer, Cecil Beaton. Annignoni's full-length portrait was privately commissioned by the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers in 1954 and completed in 1956. It is now displayed in Fishmongers' Hall, London Both portraits feature the Queen wearing the regalia of the Order of the Garter and were commissioned in the same period. The order of the Garter is the oldest surviving order of chivalry in the world, have been instituted in 1348 by Edward III, and is symbolised by a blue garter. The motto of the Order is "Honi Soit Qui Mal Y pense", which means "evil be unto him who thinks evil".
2007
The Queen's Birthday stamp issue for 2007 featured an image of the Queen taken while on a visit to Australia with the Duke of Edinburgh for the opening of the XVIII Commonwealth Games in March 2006. The royal couple visited Sydney and Canberra before travelling to Melbourne to open the Games.
2008
The contemporary image of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II used for this stamp issue was taken at an official dinner held at Parliament House in Canberra during her most recent visit to Australia in 2006. The Queen wore her badge as Sovereign Head of the Order of Australia.
2009
The Queen's birthday stamp issue for 2009 features the Trooping of the Colour parade, which marks the Queen's official birthday each year. The ceremony has marked the sovereign's official birthday since 1748 and the stamps in this issue show how the Queen has participated in the parade during her reign.
Contents
- Introduction
- The Depiction of Queen Elizabeth II
- 1947 Princess Elizabeth Wedding – Definitive Issue
- 1953 Coronation Commemorative Issue
- 1953-54 First Queen Elizabeth Definitive Series
- 1954 Royal Visit by Queen Elizabeth and Duke of Edinburgh
- 1955-57 Queen Elizabeth II Definitives
- 1959-62 Queen Elizabeth II Definitives
- 1963 Royal Visit
- Part II
- 1966-69 Queen Elizabeth II Stamps
- 1970-99 Queen Elizabeth II Stamps
- 2000-present Queen Elizabeth II Stamps
- Queen Elizabeth II Miniature Sheets and Sheetlets