Australia Post beat everyone by being the first to issue the stamp featuring the new Royal Baby, George Alexander Louis. The 60c stamp on a sheetlet of 10 valued at $6.00 is designed by Sonia Young of the Australia Post Design Studio.
This instant issue celebrates the birth of a new prince to the Duke
and Duchess of Cambridge on July 22, 2013 at 4.24pm BST. The next day, the latest addition to the Royal Family was introduced to the world on the steps of the hospital.
The stamp shows the Royal couple leaving St Mary's Hospital Paddington with their newly-born son.
Australia Post shares that "the birth of a future monarch is always a highly anticipated event and
the child of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, who will be third in
line to the throne after Prince Charles and Prince William, was no
exception.
For the first time in British history the gender of the newborn royal
was irrelevant - the newly altered Act of Succession means that now the
first born, whether boy or girl, will be monarch. And in another first,
the birth of this royal baby saw Prince William take paternity leave
from his position as a helicopter rescue pilot.
The sons of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II - Charles, Andrew and Edward -
were born at Buckingham Palace, while Princess Anne was born at
Clarence House. Today the preferred birthing facility used by the Royal
Family is the Lindo Wing at St. Mary's Hospital in Paddington. The baby's
father Prince William was born there, as was his uncle Prince Harry.
A notice of the birth was attached to an ornate easel in the forecourt
of Buckingham Palace, with the media officially informed. There were
royal gun salutes across London heralding the new arrival."
Here are two interesting philatelic items I got the other day at Cebu Stamp Club's July
27, 2013 Stamp Meetup in Catmon.
The first is a 2011 stamp issued in
Cuba commemorating the 65th Anniversary of the Diplomatic Relations
between the Philippines and Cuba.
It features
Fort Santiago in Manila, and the Philippine flag and Cuba's Castillo de
los Tres Reyes del Morro, La Havana and the Cuban flag.
The second is
an envelope bearing a Poste Vaticane (Vatican Post) August 21-23, 2003
cancellation with a Pope John Paul II stamp.
During the June meetup at Fort San Pedro, Cebu Stamp Club members decided to go out of town to hold the July 27, 2013 meetup in Ken and Gina Turner's place in Catmon.
The trip to the Turner residence almost took us two hours. We left at 10:00 a.m. and arrived at lunch time. Immediately upon our arrival we were treated by the Australian couple delicious food that
include veggies, chicken and fish dishes and coconut milk as well as sodas.
There were stamp freebies too. It was stamping, dining and bonding for all of us. The reason we are together for 17 years as a club is because of stamps and we went home with lots of them.
Before we left, we were treated again with some snacks. It sure was one of the great out-of-town meetups we had!
Click here for more photo at Cebu Stamp Club's official Facebook page
It's a great Saturday for me as I finally have the time to start mounting my 2012 Philippine First
Day Covers on my customized FDC album.
Next time around will be the 2012 Philippine stamps. It's already mid-year and I have yet to mount them to its album.
I am very glad to receive this philatelic gift yesterday
from Andrzej P., a philatelist friend who comes from faraway Poland, the
birthplace of the soon to be saint John Paul II. These John Paul II philatelic items released by the Polish Post Office on different dates are a welcome addition to
my Pope John Paul II philatelic collection.
These materials will definitely be included in a new stamp and photo exhibit I will be presenting for Cebu Stamp Club immediately after the Pope's canonization this year.
More photos at Cebu Stamp Club's official Facebook page.
In return, I sent him philatelic items issued by the Philippine Postal Corporation featuring Pope John Paul II, San Pedro Calungsod and other Catholic-themed issues.
