Keeper of the Privy Purse

Postal historian Dane Garrod examines the additional handstamps that feature on covers and refer to the exact origin of the correspondence.

The word ‘privy’ has a number of meanings as either an adjective or a noun. In the context of this article, it is as a noun, referring to the privy purse, which is the British sovereign’s private income that comes mostly from the Duchy of Lancaster. Why would that be is a question that can be answered by a brief glance back into history to some 626 years ago. There had been unease at the end of the 14th century with the rule of King Richard II, and a revolt under the leadership of Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Lancaster, was successful with his accession as King Henry IV in 1399, and all of his titles merged with those of the Crown. The legal basis for the sovereign to use the…

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Stamp Collector (Digital) - 1 Issue, April 2025

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