To mark the King Charles III accession and coronation ceremony on Saturday May 6, NZ Post has produced stamps featuring portraits of the King and Queen Consort.

Four stamps are available today (3 May) and a special stamp sheetlet, featuring images from the coronation will be available from 7 May.

The four individual stamps feature recent portraits of the King and Queen Consort and can be purchased online and from NZ Post retailers.

NZ Post’s Head of Stamps and Collectables Antony Harris says on Sunday morning his team will choose an image from the coronation ceremony – with the sheetlet available to purchase from the Collectables website on Sunday.

“We acknowledge the coronation is an important day in the history of the nation and we wanted to give Kiwis the chance to share in the celebration within 48 hours of the event being held with a special collectable.”

Last month NZ Post also released a collection of coins on pre-sale – which quickly sold out.

The six coins issued by NZ Post under license from the Reserve Bank of New Zealand were designed by Wellington’s Fuller Studio and included original illustrations by Stephen Fuller. They were personally approved by the King.

“King Charles III will be the first king of New Zealand to appear on our decimal currency,” Harris said.

Charles III succeeded his mother Queen Elizabeth II, as sovereign immediately upon her death on 8 September 2022.

For almost a thousand years, each monarch of Britain, and later New Zealand, has been crowned in a special ceremony months after their accession.

Stamp information:

$1.70 Royal Visit

This photograph shows King Charles during the 2019 royal visit to New Zealand. He is pictured wearing a korowai at the Waitangi Treaty Grounds in the Bay of Islands. While at Waitangi he planted a pōhutukawa tree, as had his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, during her visit to Waitangi in 1953.

$3.00 The King and Queen Consort

This official portrait of the King and Queen consort was taken during Wales Week 2019 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Charles’ investiture as Prince of Wales. In 1969 Charles gave a speech in both English and Cymraeg (Welsh) after spending nine weeks learning the endangered language at Aberystwyth University.

$3.80 Christmas Broadcast

This stamp features King Charles III at the recording of his first Christmas broadcast in the Quire of St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. New Zealanders watched the broadcast on the evening of Christmas Day 2022. It was the first Christmas speech given by a King in 70 years.

$4.30 Sustainability

This portrait was taken when King Charles III spoke as a patron at a reception held by the Soil Association in the United Kingdom. Charles has spent 50 years advocating for the environment, sharing his enthusiasm for sustainable farming practices and exploring the world’s environmental challenges.

© Scoop Media