Off with her head! Royal row as queen stamped out

Britain’s Royal Mail introduced one of the most radical changes ever to the postal system Tuesday, letting customers buy stamps online — but the move sparked a royal row centred on the queen’s head.

People unwilling to wait in lengthy post office queues or those who have run out of stamps when the shops are closed will be able to print out unique bar codes directly onto envelopes or sticky labels at the click of a mouse.
Royal Mail said the move was one of the most important to the postal system since the introduction of the Penny Black — the world’s first adhesive stamp — in 1840.

The Penny Black — with an image of Queen Victoria — was designed to introduced to shift the cost of postage to the sender, instead of the recipient.
Royal Mail said the print-outs and the ability to pay online via credit card after selecting the appropriate size and price were perfect for busy people in the modern era and was similar to office franking machines.

But newspapers were less sure about the development, fearing for the future of the humble stamp.
The Times newspaper said the move “could send stamps to the great wastepaper basket of history” and called it a “black day for philatelists”.

“This is the beginning of the end for stamps but it’ll be a long time before we will see post offices stopping selling them,” John Moody, from Gibbons Stamp Monthly magazine, was quoted as saying.

The Daily Mail — a bastion of traditional, conservative values — had a different take, likening it to the erosion of all that is great about Great Britain.

“Off With The Queen’s Head!” its front page said, warning that the silhouetted image of Queen Elizabeth II on all postage stamps was under threat from the barcode.

Ashley Lawrence, from the Royal Philatelic Society London, was quoted as saying: “It is a pity that Royal Mail — of all people — should allow the Queen’s head to disappear from our postage stamps…

“The Queen’s head gave our stamps their unique distinction.”
One of two lawmakers from the main opposition Conservative Party complained that it was another example of how the monarchy was being “airbrushed” from British officialdom.