New Zealand Post (Niue Overprint) Coronation of King George VI - 1937

NEW ZEALAND POST (with Niue Overprint)  on 13 May 1937, along with Great Britain and 56 members of the British Empire celebrated the Coronation of King George VI with an attractive set (three stamps) of First Day Cover coronation stamps. The designers/printers were Bradbury Wilkinson, England. Paper type used was Wiggins Teape 'Esparto', multiple NZ and star watermark. Recess printing process - Intaglio - was employed. Stamp size was     40mm x 24mm. These stamps remained on sale until 31 December 1937.

After the sudden death of King George V and the scandalous abdication of King Edward VIII, the British Empire gladly accepted the shy, soft-spoken George VI as their new King. This popular issue depicted a youthful George VI with his wife Queen Elizabeth, and was surprisingly printed with just a few months' notice.

Prince Albert Frederick George, second son of King George V and Queen Mary was born on 14 December 1895. He was trained in the Royal Navy and saw action at the battle of Jutland in World War One. Created Duke of York in 1923, he married Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon at Westminster Abbey in the same year. The Duke and Duchess of York had two daughters; in 1926 Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) and in 1930 Princess Margaret. King George V had no training in kingship. A shy man, he disliked the constant attention he had to endure. To make matters more difficult for him he did not enjoy robust health and found public speaking an almost intolerable burden. He died on 6 February 1952.

Source: New Zealand Post