The Royal Philatelic Collection is the world's most comprehensive collection of postage stamps devoted to Great Britain and the Commonwealth.
The collection began in a small way in 1865, when the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) and his younger brother, Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, were given panes of the current 6d stamps. Alfred became a serious philatelist.
Before his death in 1900, the Duke of Edinburgh sold his collection to his older brother, the Prince of Wales, who gave it to his son, The Duke of York, who was already a very keen collector. He once wrote to his philatelic adviser, J. A. Tilleard, "I wish to have the best collection & not one of the best collections in England."
The Duke of York was a very astute collector. In March 1893 he was elected Honorary Vice-President of what is now the Royal Philatelic Society London. On his marriage later in the year, fellow members of the society gave him an album of postage stamps as a wedding present. It contained nearly 1,500 contributions from over 100 of the Society's members.
In 1896 the Duke of York accepted the invitation to become executive president of the society, a position he held until 1910.
He recognised rarity and made every effort to obtain the rarest stamps at the first possible opportunity. By 1904 he had acquired both the Penny and Two Pence 'Post Office' Mauritius of 1847 - the first stamps issued by a colonial post office and probably the most prized stamps that any collector could wish to acquire.
The 1d was bought from the Earl of Kintore's collection, while the unused Two Pence 'Post Office' Mauritius was acquired at auction in 1904 for a then-record price of 1,450 pounds. A courtier asked the Prince if he had seen "that some damned fool had paid as much as 1400 pounds for one stamp." "Yes," came the reply. "I was that damned fool!"
In 1906 he decided to confine his collection almost entirely to the stamps of Great Britain and the Empire. A number of official and semi-official presentations - and thirteen important items from Queen Mary - helped build up the collection, but by far the largest proportion came from his own purchases.
The Duke of York succeeded his father as King George V on May 6, 1910. As the 70th anniversary of the Penny Black, it was an appropriate date for the accession of a king who became one of the most renowned philatelists of his time. Tradition has it that he spent three afternoons a week with his Collection whenever he was in London - and was very rarely interrupted.
The strength of his collection lies in its completeness. Regardless of how attractive or unattractive the stamps were, King George V never neglected a stamp issue provided that it was of good status. He also took a great interest in stamp design. Once the stamp-sized artists' sketches, which were submitted for his approval, had been used by the printers for engraving the die, making plates and matching colours, they were usually returned for inclusion in his collection.
After the death of King George V, his son George VI, and later, his granddaughter Queen Elizabeth II continued their active interests in the Royal Philatelic Collection, adding missing rarities and keeping it up-to-date with each new issue of stamps.
The Collection is today looked after by a part-time staff of experts at St. James's Palace. Heading up the team is Michael Sefi, Keeper of the Royal Philatelic Collection since 2003.
Responsible for ensuring that the collection remains in prime condition, the team also assists researchers, deals with additions to the Collection, and arranges loans to stamp exhibitions such as the one in Washington.
Despite these responsibilities, Michael Sefi has no doubts about his job. "For a serious philatelist, working here is like being a small child in a sweet shop, cake shop and toy shop, all rolled into one - on a 'look-but-don't-sample' footing! It's an enormous privilege."
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