1981 The Wedding of HRH The Prince of Wales

Omnibus issue commemorating The Royal Wedding

Date: 22nd July 1981
Stamps: 30c; 50c and $1 Royal Wedding – 29th July 1981

Type: Official First Day Cover
CDS: 22JUL81C MANGROVE BAY BERMUDA
Cachet: Printed – The Wedding of H.R.H The Prince of Wales 29th July 1981 BERMUDA. Official First Day Cover Release Day 22nd July 1981. Bermuda Coat of Arms. Reverse – Bermuda map and magnifying glass.

Liner

Bermuda

His Royal Highness Prince Charles’ Wedding Stamp Issue

TECHNICAL DETAILS

Designer: John Waddington Studio
Printer: The House of Questa
Process: Lithography
No. of stamps per sheet: 50 (2 x 25)
Stamp size: 28.45 x 42.58 mm.
Paper: Slaters Processed
Watermark: CA Spiral
Values: 30c, 50c and $1
Perforation Gauge: 14.5 per 2 cm.
Release date: 22nd July, 1981

On 24th February, 1981, an announcement from Buckingham Palace read:

“It is with the greatest pleasure that the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh announce the betrothal of their beloved son, the Prince of Wales to Lady Diana Spencer”

which brought out cheering crowds in London. It was later announced that the Royal Wedding would take place at St. Paul’s Cathedral on 29th July, 1981. This day has been declared a national holiday in the United Kingdom.

Charles Philip Arthur George, Prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Prince of Wales and Earl of Chester, Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay, Earl ofCarrick, Baron of Renfrew, Lord of the Isles and Great Steward ofScotland, Royal Knight ofthe Most Noble Order of the Garter, Royal Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Thistle, Great Master of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath and Knight Grand Cross of that Order, was born on 14th November, 1948. His parents, from his earliest years, ensured that his life was full and varied.

In 1957, Prince Charles became a boarder at Cheam School in Berkshire, after a short time in a day preparatory school in Chelsea. At school he was granted no special privileges, achieving the anonymity necessary to a normal education. In 1962, he went to Gordonstoun, a Scottish school with an emphasis on physical toughness and self-discipline. In 1966 he spent a short time at Timbertop, an up-country annexe to Australia’s exclusive Geelong Grammar School, returning to Gordonstoun to become head boy. In the following year Prince Charles became an undergraduate at Trinity College Cambridge, and after his investiture as Prince of Wales, gained a degree in history in 1970. Then followed several months at the Royal Air Force College, Cranwell, improving his flying. He transferred to the Royal Navy, developing his abilities as a helicopter pilot and eventually attaining command of a 360-ton minehunter, HMS Bronington in 1976. After 5½ years of service, Prince Charles left the Navy to play an important part in the 1977 Silver Jubilee celebrations, chairing the Jubilee Appeal Fund.

Lady Diana Frances Spencer, the youngest daughter of Earl Spencer, spent much of her childhood as a neighbour of the Royal Family at Sandringham. Her father, an equerry both to King George VI and the present Queen, owns an estate in Northamptonshire. It was only after she had left school that Lady Diana was seen in the company of the heir apparent.

Before her engagement, Lady Diana worked in a kindergarten, living with several girl-friends in a South Kensington flat. Lady Diana is in fact distantly related to Prince Charles, being his seventh cousin once removed, related directly through William Cavendish, third Duke of Devonshire (1698-1755).

The couple intend to live in Highgrove House near Tetbury in Gloucestershire, a distinguished Georgian house standing in superb park-lands, 90 miles from London where they will also have an apartment.

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1st Benham Silk Omnibus

Type: Benham Silk First Day Covers
CDS: 22JUL81A HAMILTON BERMUDA
Cachet: THE MARRIAGE OF THE PRINCE OF WALES 1st Benham Silk Omnibus FDC BERMUDA
Address: BENHAM, HIGH STREET, HYTHE, KENT

The Royal Wedding
29th July 1981

“It is with the greatest pleasure that the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh announce the betrothal of their beloved son, The Prince of Wales, to the Lady Diana Spencer, daughter of the Earl of Spencer and the Honourable Mrs. Shand Kydd”

So ended the years ofspeculation as to who would be the bride of that most popular man, Prince Charles. Since the announcement the world has taken Lady Diana to their hearts, with her quiet charm and her graceful composure she makes a very fitting Princess of Wales.

May they have Long Life and Happiness

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Fleetwood First Day Cover

Type: Fleetwood First Day Cover
CDS: 22JUL81A HAMILTON BERMUDA
Cachet: CD Bermuda with flower illustration by botanical artist Kristin Rosenberg

The Royal Wedding 1981

THE COMPLETE FIRST DAY COVER COLLECTION – BERMUDA

According to a 17th-century French cartographer, the Bermuda Islands were discovered in 1503 by Juan Bermudez, thus the name Bermuda. No settlement was made then, and the Islands were uninhabited until a party of colonists under Sir George Somers was wrecked there in 1609. A company was formed for the Plantation of the Somers Islands, as they were first called. In 1684, Bermuda came more directly under the Crown and remains a colony today.

1. Bougainvillea. The Bougainvillea originated in Brazil. It spreads lavishly over walls and buildings in many tropical regions. The flowers are almost invisible but the leaves are a brilliant scarlet.
2. Royal Poinciana or Flamboyant Tree. This magnificent tree with its striking flowers is very well known in Florida as well as Bermuda.
3. Easter Lily. Originally from Japan, the beautiful Easter Lily is now widely grown in Bermuda.
4. Frangipani. With its striking, richly perfumed flowers this tree grows to a height of twenty feet or more. These trees were once used in religious rites and were actually guarded by the Indians.

The ribbons on this bouquet represent the official colors of Bermuda.

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Type: Official First Day Cover
CDS: 22JUL81A HAMILTON BERMUDA
Cachet: Printed – The Wedding of H.R.H The Prince of Wales 29th July 1981 BERMUDA. Official First Day Cover Release Day 22nd July 1981. Bermuda Coat of Arms. Reverse – Bermuda map and magnifying glass.
Address: Crown Agents Stamp Bureau, 4 Millbank, London SW1

Omnibus issue details

Standard issue as per Bermuda design – list of issuing territories

1. Ascension
2. Barbuda
3. Belize
4. Bermuda
5. British Virgin Islands
6. Brunei
7. Cayman Islands
8. Falkland Islands
9. Fiji
10. Gambia
11. Hong Kong
12. Lesotho
13. Mauritius
14. Norfolk Islands
15. Pitcairn Islands
16. Samoa
17. St. Helena
18. Sierra Leone
19. Solomon Islands
20. Swaziland
21. Tristan da Cunha
22. Vanuatu

Local design – list of issuing territories

There are many issuing territories, pretty much the remainder of the Commonwealth.