Photo of Queen in Worcester among Platinum Jubilee stamps

Elizabeth II will mark her 70th anniversary on the throne on Sunday, as she becomes the first British sovereign in history to reach such a milestone.

To commemorate the occasion, the Royal Mail have issued eight new stamps, featuring photographs of the monarch throughout her reign.

One of the photos shows the Queen on a walkabout in Worcester in April 1980.

Simon Thompson, chief executive of Royal Mail, said: “These stamps are a celebration of the second Elizabethan Age and a tribute to a remarkable lifetime of duty and public service.

“We are honoured to be releasing them to mark the occasion of the first Platinum Jubilee in the UK’s history, a momentous occasion.”

Ranging from 1957 to 2020, the earliest photo shows the young Queen alongside the Duke of Edinburgh, as the pair smile and wave during a tour of Washington DC.

Some of the other stamps include the Queen during a visit to the MI5 headquarters in February 2020, touring the Provincial Museum of Alberta, Canada, in May 2005, and saluting in uniform and on horseback during the 1978 Trooping the Colour.

The Queen’s Silver, Golden and Diamond Jubilees were also marked with special stamp issues.

None of the new set includes the silhouette of the Queen normally required on special stamps, as the Royal Mail say the use of the Queen’s image removed the need for the silhouette.

While the Queen’s Accession Day falls on February 6, national celebrations are being held on a special four-day bank holiday weekend in June.

The monarch is currently staying on the Sandringham estate, where she will remain for the anniversary, which simultaneously marks the death of her father George VI and the moment she became Queen in 1952.

The stamps can be bought separately and there is also a range of collectible products, all of which are available from today at 7,000 Post Office branches, via www.royalmail.com/platinumjubilee, or by phone on +44 (0)3457 641 641.