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The Royal Family is famous around the world for their weird and wonderful habits and hobbies, some of which date back hundreds of years of history.
Whether it’s playing polo, driving horse-drawn carriages or hunting grouse, the royals have some very exclusive and chic hobbies.
But did you know that even some of the most privileged people in the world enjoy the same comfort as we do?
It appears that stamp collecting has proven to be a therapeutic pastime for many members of the royal family through the ages.
As normal as it sounds, in royal fashion, the family’s stamp collection is valued at £ 10million.
The Queen is the fifth royal to join the famous Royal Philatelic Collection, following its inauguration by Queen Victoria’s son Prince Alfred in 1864.
The prince sold his collection to his brother, the future King Edward VII, who in turn gave it to his son, King George V and it subsequently passed to King George VI and finally to the Queen.
The stamps first entered circulation on May 6, 1840 at the start of Queen Victoria’s reign, when it only cost a penny to send a letter weighing less than half an ounce.
Of all the Royal Guardians, King George V was very dedicated to maintaining and growing the collection.
While still Duke of York, George was made honorary vice-president of what would become the Royal Philatelic Society of London in 1893.
He also received a book containing 1,500 stamps on the occasion of his marriage to Princess Mary of Teck from his colleagues in the company.
George’s dedication to his hobby was limitless and he even set the record for the highest price ever paid for a stamp.
In 1904, a courtier asked the prince if he had seen “that some fucking idiot paid up to £ 1,450 for a single stamp.”
George replied, “Yeah, I’m that bloody fool.”
The pleasure of stamp collecting has passed from grandfather to granddaughter. Queen Elizabeth – who called King George V “Grandfather of England” – inherited her 328 stamp albums.
Royal expert Phil Dampier told Fabulous Digital: “The Queen loves showing off her stamp collection to visitors, say heads of state staying at Buckingham Palace.
“It is one of her pride and joy, not only because she owns some of the most valuable stamps in the world, but also because she has relied on a family treasure and has the feeling of having made the pride of his father and the previous monarchs who owned it. “
The Queen did not leave the collection as it was, she enriched it.
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The rarest and most expensive addition was a Mauritius stamp worth £ 2million. It was shown in a traveling exhibition to celebrate the Queen’s jubilee in 2002.
The stamp is one of the most treasured in the world and was issued by the colonial post office of Mauritius in 1847.
READ MORE: Royal family: Why Queen’s summer vacation in Scotland lasts almost 3 months and who comes to stay there when she’s there
The Queen also spent £ 250,000 on a unique set of 10 Penny Blacks dated the first day of their entry into circulation, May 6, 1840.
The current profile of the Queen’s stamp was issued in June 1967 and has remained unchanged for five decades.
Besides stamps, the Queen – who has long been praised for her wicked sense of humor – also collects something a little more unusual …
(Image: WPA Pool / Getty Images)
She collects pepper mills. Yes, you read that right.
One of her favorites was a gift from a friend who came from an Italian restaurant in the form of a plastic waiter.
It is believed that when you crack your head for pepper, he shouts with an Italian accent, “You’re breaking my neck!” which everyone thinks the Queen finds hilarious.
What do you collect? Let us know in the comments!
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