Year of the Three Kings

Royal Mail will issue a special miniature sheet on August 31 to mark the 70th anniversary of the Year of the Three Kings.

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, George V died in January 1936, and his eldest son, Edward, the popular prince of Wales, came to the throne as Edward VIII. Before his coronation, the king announced his intention of marrying an American, Mrs. Wallis Warfield Simpson, as soon as her second divorce became absolute. Parliament and the dominions' governments disapproved. Edward abdicated on Dec. 11, 1936, and his brother, the duke of York, was proclaimed king as George VI.

Shown above is a spectacular cacheted cover being offered by British First Day Covers featuring the minature sheet with stamps from the reigns of each monarch and a £3 definitive stamp featuring the Machin portrait of Queen Elizabeth II along with the first day cancellation.