Queen Máxima will soon receive her own stamp. She will turn 50 on 17 May and PostNL will then come up with a sheet of Máxima stamps. What is special is that it also includes a stamp with a private photo.
That private photo is a black and white portrait of the queen. Designer Maud van Rossum saw the photo during a TV speech by King Willem-Alexander in his office and asked permission to use the photo.
According to the designer, it was not difficult to get the picture. “I myself did not have direct contact with the royal family, that went through PostNL. But it all went very smoothly, and it was quickly agreed to be allowed to use the photo”, says Van Rossum.
First time that a queen is like this on a stamp
She calls the photo a “beautiful, very intimate image”. “I don’t think there has ever been a queen like this on a stamp.” The photo was taken in New York in 1999. In that year Willem-Alexander and Máxima met each other.
The color photos were taken by photographer Robin Utrecht. One sheet has five seals. The stamps with the photos of Máxima are for sale from her birthday, Monday 17 May.
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