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Still smiling after all these years
Who has appeared on more Canadian postage stamps than anyone else? She’s a true celebrity, someone as widely recognized in Canada and around the world as any movie star, politician or athlete.
If you guessed Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, you’re right. As our head of state, the Queen has appeared on more than 100 Canadian postage stamps as well as stamps in Great Britain and throughout the Commonwealth. In fact, British stamps regularly show a tiny image of her that was adapted from a sculpture—this stamp portrait has been reproduced more than 200 billion times.
The Queen first began appearing on postage stamps when she was still a child. Since she became Queen in 1952, generations of Canadians have grown used to seeing her portrait on their mail. When she was younger, the Queen often appeared on stamps in formal poses, looking serious. But these days, you’ll more often see her smiling warmly, as in this new PERMANENT™ domestic rate stamp issued by Canada Post. The stamp’s design is based on a photograph taken during the Queen’s visit to Saskatchewan in 2005. She was greeting a group of schoolchildren from Bjorkdale, Saskatchewan, who had been so eager to meet her that they made a quilt bearing the Royal Cypher to help raise money for the trip. In fact, the quilt is featured on the back of the official first day cover.
TM Trademark of Canada Post Corporation |
