King George V

Stamp album cover
Red album from King George V's collection. Similar albums are blue for King George VI and green for Queen Elizabeth II.

The Royal Philatelic Collection was begun in the late 1800s by the Duke of York, who became King George V in 1910. The future King was helped at first by his uncle, Prince Alfred, Duke of Edinburgh, and soon became a serious philatelist himself. He once wrote to his philatelic adviser, J. A. Tilleard, “I wish to have the best collection & not one of the best collections in England.” King George VI later added significantly to the Collection, as has The Queen.

The Queen's Own: Stamps That Changed the World - Introduction