The Virtual GB Album

The four Welsh stamps were designed by Tutssels and feature Welsh symbols produced by craftsmen.

The second-class stamp shows a leek, a vegetable often associated with Wales, made from Welsh sycamore in the style of a lovespoon carved by David Petersen. According to tradition, St. David ordered his soldiers to wear it on their helmets during a battle against the Saxons fought on a field of leeks. Regardless of whether that story is true, the leek has been an important food for the Welsh, and in the past it was considered to have medicinal properties.

A Welsh dragon forged in steel by Tony and Gideon Petersen, sons of David Petersen, is featured on the first-class stamp. The red dragon appears on the Welsh flag and has been associated with Wales for over a thousand years. It was adopted by the early Welsh kings to symbolize their authority after the Roman withdrawal. Later, it was the standard of Cadwallader, the native Welsh prince from whom the Tudors were descended.

The ‘E’ stamp, for mail to Europe, has a daffodil created in Welsh slate by Ieuan Rees. The daffodil, now the national flower, has partly replaced the leek as a symbol, mostly because of its prettier look.

The 64p airmail stamp shows the Prince of Wales Features crafted in Welsh gold and silver by Rhiannon Evans. The badge of The Prince of Wales comprises three silver (or white) feathers rising through a gold coronet of alternate crosses and fleur-de-lys. The German motto "Ich Dien" (I serve) is on a dark blue ribbon beneath the coronet. The title of Prince of Wales was revived in 1301 by King Edward I and later conferred on his eldest son, who had been born in Wales. Forty-five years later, the then Prince of Wales, later known as the Black Prince from his habit of wearing all-black armor, adopted the badge after a battle.