2026 Special Stamps Announced

Royal Mail has confirmed the special stamps issues for the first half of the year.

I was looking forward to seeing what they had to offer this year. I don't like every stamp issue but usually there is something a bit different each year. Last year there were stamps about the Royal Armouries, the Royal Observatory, Monty Python and Peanuts. Some were better than others but at least these were good attempts and "something completely different". (See, I learned a lot about Monty Python!) We only have the schedule for the first part of 2026 but it is a massive disappointment. Boring! Boring! Boring! I've already reviewed the first set, which was for Stranger Things. I didn't rate it highly. What else will we have from Royal Mail? 21st January - Concorde 19th February - Hornby Model Railways 26th February - Roses 10th March - Lord of the Rings 21st April - Centenary of the Birth of Queen Elizabeth II 21st May - Castles 23rd June - Waterfalls The first thing to ask is why we need the Concorde set just eight days after the Stranger Things issue, and why we also need two further issues within a week of each other in February. It's ridiculous.

The second thing to ask is why do things we've done before? There was a pretty great Concorde issue in 1969. There hasn't been a specific Hornby issue but a stamp of a Hornby railway was part of the 2017 classic toys issue. Roses have been done in 1976, 1991 and as part of the classic flowers issue in 2023. Lord of the Rings? Done in 2004. Queen Elizabeth - no doubt Royal Mail will rehash one of the many former issues. Castles - done so many times, including 1963 (HV definitives), 1978, 1988 (HV definitives), 2005 (modern take on 1963 definitives) and as part of the UK A to Z series (2011 and 2012). There hasn't been a waterfalls issue before, but a waterfall has appeared on stamps as recently as 2019. Yet more castles on stamps seems very unimaginative. Out of all of these, the one I am looking forward to most is waterfalls. I expect there will be something different in there and hopefully some interesting waterfalls from different parts of the UK. My dad's friend Joe will really like the Hornby issue and it will be interesting to see how they design it - if they do it right it could become a classic. But nothing else excites me at all.

You might say "well, what would you do differently?" I will tell you! I'd have a set of stamps to mark the 100th anniversary of John Logie Baird's first ever demonstration of the TV. That's a pretty massive milestone! I'd have another set for 100 years of the British Grand Prix. Yes, I like motor sport but actually it's a pretty big event even if you're not a huge fan. It's been really important to British sport and absolutely deserves a stamp.

I'd have a set to celebrate the work of the legendary LS Lowry who died 50 years ago this year. (I live not very far from The Lowry Centre so I know about the 50th anniversary celebrations, but he's such a famous artist that Royal Mail should also know a bit about him.)

Maybe a set for the 100th anniversary of the General Strike (which I've recently learned about)? Not everything has to be about anniversaries of course. What about stamps celebrating things that are particularly British? Why not take inspiration from what Guernsey Stamps are doing this year or even the USA, which has an interesting calendar of issues about American culture (including Mohammad Ali, Phyllis Wheatley, Sarah Orne Jewett and Harriet Powers), history (revolutionary leaders, declaration of independence), nature (bald eagles and squirrels & chipmunks) and modern life (a day at the beach). I see Guernsey will be having a special issue for native jellyfish, something Royal Mail has never done although one jellyfish did appear in the 2007 Sea Life issue. Sark's "An Artist's View" sounds interesting. Perhaps Royal Mail could have a special issue each year dedicated to a different British artist? There are lots of possibilities if you have a bit of imagination. I'd probably have a set of stamps for the Commonwealth Games, although I admit that's been done before too.

Anyway, it's a very uninspiring first part of the 2026 stamp calendar from Royal Mail. Perhaps the second half of the year will be better?