Royal Mail unveils last stamps to carry the Queen’s silhouette which celebrate 100 years of the Flying Scotsman

The final set of special stamps to carry a picture of the Queen have been unveiled.

The 12-stamp set featuring the National Railway Museum’s Flying Scotsman, which is marking its 100 birthday this year, is extra special as they will be the final collection to feature the late monarch’s silhouette.

Available to preorder from Tuesday, February 28, the stamps will then go on general sale from March 9 costing £17.70.

Alongside the initial 12 stamps will be a further four stamps, in a miniature sheet, which show images of the Flying Scotsman and the London North Eastern Railway (LNER) poster artwork from the 1920s and 30s.

David Gold, Director of External Affairs and Policy at Royal Mail, said: “Flying Scotsman is a national treasure of engineering and design that conjures up the golden age of steam travel. This remarkable locomotive epitomises the romance of rail travel and is loved all by people over the world. We are honoured to mark this landmark milestone with a set of special stamps.”

Royal Mail worked closely with Bob Gwynne, associate curator at the National Railway Museum, (part of the Science Museum Group), to select the images featured on the stamps that were chosen from hundreds of period photographs.

Over a 40-year career on British rails, Flying Scotsman travelled over two million miles and became the first steam locomotive to reach a speed of 100mph (161kmh).

These stamps are the final special release to carry Queen Elizabeth’s silhouette with all future releases now to use the image of King Charles.

Her silhouette has been in constant use on Special Stamps since 1968 – with the first design adapted from a 1953 design used on coins until 1967.

The only occasion on which the silhouette has not featured on a special stamp is when an actual image of the Queen was used in the design of the stamp itself.

The King’s image, which will replace the Queen’s, is also an adapted version of the portrait created for the Royal Mint for new UK coins and shows the monarch facing to the left – without a crown.