Charles and Camilla feature on stamps to mark engagement

Photos of Prince Charles and his bride-to-be Camilla Parker Bowles grace a set of royal wedding commemorative postage stamps unveiled by Britain's Royal Mail. Britons will have a choice of two Charles-and-Camilla commemorative stamps, which will go on sale at British post offices from April 8 - the couple's wedding day.

A 30 pence (57 US cent) stamp features a profile of the couple looking relaxed and laughing heartily, while a 68 pence (1.30 US dollars) stamp, commonly used for posting letters overseas, shows Charles and Camilla in a formal pose.

The photographs, which have been approved for use on the stamps by Queen Elizabeth II, Charles' mother, were taken in Scotland at the Queen's Balmoral estate and at a Scottish sports gathering in the far north of the country.

Newspaper reports were at best lukewarm, reflecting Camilla's lack of popularity compared to Charles' first wife, the late Princess Diana. However, some people on the streets of London were more charitable, saying the stamps showed the royal couple in a positive light.

Royal Mail official Julietta Edgar declared the stamps would become a collector's item, and insisted they were a fitting way to mark the forthcoming wedding.

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