King George V: The Stamp Collector

George Frederick Ernest Albert (1865 – 1936)

The young philatalist

As a boy, influenced largely by his uncle, Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, the young Prince developed a strong interest in stamp collecting – a hobby enjoyed by many youngsters in the late 1800s. This interest became a serious pursuit when he inherited a substantial collection from his father, who would go on to become King Edward VII. From then on, philately was to be a lifelong passion.

Driven by a deep sense of patriotism, George dedicated almost his entire collection to Britain and the Commonwealth. He developed a keen interest in the origins, design and production of stamps.

He was fascinated by how they were printed, where they were produced, and the types of perforations and printing flaws. It is this level of attention to detail that distinguishes a philatelist from a collector. A collector is typically less interested in the detail of stamps and instead focuses on gathering and preserving postage stamps as a hobby, driven by an interest in their history, design and rarity. 

A key defining aspect for why so many people may have been attracted to the hobby, including George, is down to the way it has connected the globe, providing insight into the rise and fall of nations, the geological landscape of other countries and the global impact of British stamp production.  

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Stamp collecting suited George’s public persona of being quiet and disciplined. While his royal status undoubtedly offered him advantages when acquiring new material, his influence on the world of philately extended far beyond that of any other monarch. His personal collection laid the foundations for the Royal Philatelic Collection, the stamp collection of the royal family, which remains to this day a crown jewel of global philately.  

His Royal Collection

George clearly had a collector’s mindset and an eye for detail, taking satisfaction from organising, preserving and steadily expanding his albums over time. When his Grandmother, Queen Victoria, died in 1901, Prince George suddenly became heir to the throne as his father ascended to become the King.

George was now faced with his own future as King, and having his head appear on the very stamps he busied himself collecting, during an era when the British Empire was expanding significantly.

Postage stamps played a subtle yet significant role in the relationship between the British Empire and power. The stamps featured imagery such as monarchs, maps, and symbols of colonial infrastructure to deliberately project images of control, while focusing on the idea of imperial rule. By standardising designs across the occupied territories, stamps embodied an enforced shared identity, often incorporating local imagery under the dominance of the Crown.

In 1905 aged 40, The Prince of Wales, as he then was, purchased one of the now famous ‘Post Office Mauritius’ stamps in in blue (two pence) for £1,450, a world record for a stamp at the time. A one penny version of the stamp was also produced in red. The stamp designs were crudely based on the Victorian Penny red and twopenny blue of Britain. The Mauritius stamps were hand engraved locally and rather hurriedly by Joseph Osmond Barnard, a jeweller and watchmaker who was not a professional stamp designer. While they mimicked the style of the iconic British stamps, they lacked their precision, fine lines and sophisticated detail.

The Post Office Mauritius stamps were the first stamps to be produced outside of Britain and the lands it had colonised. Put on sale on 21st September 1847, 500 of the original designs were printed but only 15 penny and 12 twopenny stamps survived, making them among the rarest and most sought-after stamps ever produced.

Mauritius stamps (top) compared to the Queen Victoria twopenny blue (below)

Following the purchase at auction, legend has it that a royal advisor spoke to George, saying, “Some damned fool has given £1,400 for one stamp!” To which George replied, “I was that damned fool!” The prized stamp was added to an already impressive collection. The stamp is worth over £1 Million today.

George’s influence in the world of stamps was evident when he was made honorary vice president of the Philatelic Society. He subsequently proposed that the name be changed to the Royal Philatelic Society, in 1906. His wish came true and the world’s oldest philatelic society (founded in 1869) – with over 2000 global members – is still called this today. Upon becoming king, he continued as the society’s patron. The Royal Philatelic Society (RPSL) should not be confused with the Royal Philatelic Collection, the stamp collection owned by the monarch. The Royal Philatelic Society for over 150 years has been at the forefront of philatelic research and expertise.

Flag outside the Royal Philatelic Society

The ‘Collector King’

To demonstrate his commitment as a collector, in May 1910, just weeks after ascending to the throne, the newly crowned King George V arranged for specimens, proofs, and all stages of designs for new stamp issues to be sent directly to him as a priority, organised by his personal philatelic advisor.

In 1913 he then appointed Edward Denny Bacon to be Curator for his personal stamp collection. Edward proceeded to help him for the next 25 years; mounting and describing George’s ever-expanding collection. The King had other duties to tend to other than his beloved collection, hence employing dedicated members of royal staff to help perform his stamp related duties.

From the TPM collection, these proofs of the 3/4 profile head design are typical of the type of material George will have been interested in

Being King would have been stressful at times, particularly during war and conflict, as recorded in a diary which George kept daily as both Prince and King. To combat these pressures, the King would often work on his stamps before and after lunch. He believed stamps helped with the preservation of his health, providing a brief respite from everything else going on in the world and the pressures of being ruler. For George, stamp collecting was “the most effective means of brief forgetfulness”. 

What he did for British Stamps

The King’s passion for stamps, and his understanding of their design and production, had a positive influence on the stamps produced during his reign. This era is considered the ‘Golden Age’ of stamp design, as he helped guide a shift in their purpose from being predominantly functional necessities, in an era of extensive letter writing, to becoming miniature works of art. One aspect which outlines this notion was his direct involvement in creating the iconic ‘Seahorses’ high-value stamp issue of 1913. 

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This ‘Seahorses’ design features an image of Britannia riding a horse-drawn chariot in the sea and was created using recess printing, which involves intricate engraving onto a metal die. These stamps are highly sought after today and are among the most iconic British stamps produced. They were in circulation for 26 years, making them also one of the longest running high-value stamps ever issued in the UK.  

George also approved the design of the first ever British commemorative stamp, issued for the 1924 British Empire Exhibition. Prior to this, stamps were known as definitive, showing mostly the monarch’s head.

Another pivotal aspect of George’s impact on British stamps is when he ordered the replacement of his first definitive stamp design featuring his three quarter ‘Downey Head’ portrait (named after William. D. Downey who created the original photograph) with the stronger and more attractive side profile head designed by Sir Bertram Mackennal. There was growing dissatisfaction around the Downey Head design due to the poor quality of the imagery and the unusual three-quarter profile. It is believed that the stamps were rushed to be ready for the King’s coronation. George agreed with the condemnation, and, with his influence, the new side-profile head stamps replaced this Downey head design in 1912.

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His Collection

The King amassed a total of 328 albums containing over a quarter of a million stamps. Bound in red leather they stood as the single finest collection of stamps of Britain and the lands it had colonised in existence by the time he died in 1936. Although his position undoubtedly afforded him incomparable opportunities to acquire rare material, it was ultimately his personal determination – or obsession – that led to a lifelong philatelic pursuit.

One intriguing, though unproven, example of how he may have leveraged his position concerns the registration sheets of British stamps. The Postal Museum has in its collections every registration sheet produced, of which there are thousands, with each sheet from the Victorian era missing one or two stamps at least (even the Penny Black sheets!). Each registration sheet, printed once a design had been finalised, is unique. Was the King responsible for the missing corner stamps? It is not easy to say, but the possibility adds a certain mystique to an already remarkable collection.

Sheet of Tyrian Plum stamps, with final stamp missing