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On 15th January, Monarchist League Dominion Chairman Robert Finch contacted members and asked them, their friends, and colleagues to contact Canada Post and the Prime Minister's Office, urging Canada Post to reverse its unfortunate decision (4th January) to not issue a stamp celebrating Prince William's wedding, and to express distaste for its rather colonial suggestion that instead it would offer to Canadians any stamps issued for the occasion by the United Kingdom's Royal Mail!
The League believes that Canada Post was subsequently inundated with emails, the result being that less than three weeks later, the campaign bore fruit and Canada Post announced it would issue not one, but two stamps to mark this happy event in the lives of Canada's future King and Queen.
In an about-face from its initial plan to let Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding pass it by, Canada Post said Friday it will issue a stamp to celebrate the union, a move royal watchers are calling a victory.
Public outcry and a strong lobby from a core group of collectors and monarchists followed reports that Canada Post had no plans to commemorate the biggest royal wedding since Prince Charles and Diana wed in 1981.
The Crown corporation could not ignore the demands it was hearing, said Jim Phillips, director of stamp services at Canada Post. It made us take a look and say,
he said. Wow, this is something that people want
,We got the whole retail team on board … and designed two different versions of the stamp right away.
In early January, Canada Post explained that it requires two years to plan, create and eventually issue a stamp, and that the royal engagement, announced last November, is too close to the April 29 wedding date for anything to be done…. Physically, I don't even think we'd be able to do it,
Mr. Phillips said in an earlier interview.
Instead, Canada Post sped up the design process, which took only 10 days, and had two versions of the stamp approved by Canada Post's board of directors on Feb. 3...
Our stamps are a reflection of who we are as a nation,
said Mary Traversy, senior vice-president of transaction mail, at Canada Post. The Royal Wedding is one of those rare occasions that will touch us all and we are pleased that we will be able to offer our customers a memento of this event.
The Monarchist League of Canada, one of the groups that has lobbied for production of a commemorative stamp, said it is thrilled by Canada Post's change of heart. This is wonderful news,
said Robert Finch, the league's dominion chairman. I think it goes to show that Canadians are very interested in the upcoming royal wedding … Not only is it a good opportunity to celebrate the rarity that is a royal wedding, it also makes good business sense,
Mr. Finch said.
Canadians will be able to find the stamps in post offices across the country on May 2, days after the highly anticipated nuptials take place in Westminster Abbey.