Great Britain announces surprise issue for HBO drama ‘Game of Thrones’

By Denise McCarty

Characters from the HBO television series Game of Thrones are featured on British stamps being issued Jan. 23.

On Jan. 3, Great Britain's Royal Mail announced the set of 15 Game of Thrones stamps.

Ten stamps in two se-tenant (side-by-side) strips of five show characters from the fantasy drama. A souvenir sheet includes five stamps, one picturing the Iron Throne itself and the other four depicting nonhuman characters from the series.

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Based on the book series A Song of Ice and Fire by American author George R.R. Martin, the Game of Thrones debuted on HBO April 17, 2011.

In announcing the stamps, Royal Mail said: “The [HBO] series is set on the fictional continent of Westeros and incorporates many plot lines and a conflict among several noble families each claiming the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms."

Royal Mail also pointed out that the stamps "mark the significant British contribution to the production of the award-winning HBO drama series."

In addition to other European locations, the series is filmed in Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Royal Mail added that “the acclaimed cast is predominantly British and Irish, and British expertise is to the fore in many areas of the production, including award-winning costume design and prosthetic special effects.”

All of the stamps are nondenominated, paying the domestic first-class rate (currently 65 pence).

The 10 central characters shown are Sansa Stark (portrayed by Sophie Turner), Jon Snow (Kit Harington), Eddard Stark (Sean Bean), Olenna Tyrell (Diana Rigg), Tywin Lannister (Charles Dance), Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage), Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey), Arya Stark (Maisie Williams), Jamie Lannister (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), and Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke). Eight of the actors are British; Dinklage is American and Coster-Waldau is Danish.

A different scene from the series is pictured in the background of each of these 10 stamps.

The Iron Throne stamp is in the middle of the souvenir sheet. Starting in the upper left, the other stamps depict the Night King and White Walkers, giants, direwolves, and dragons.

Royal Mail is offering several other products in conjunction with the Games of Thrones stamps, including a 24-page prestige booklet.

According to Royal Mail, this prestige booklet includes all 10 stamps “plus a unique stamp page,” and also offers behind-the-scenes content.

The stamps can be pre-ordered online.

After they are issued, they will be available from Royal Mail, Tallents House, 21 S. Gyle Crescent, Edinburgh, EH12 9PB, Scotland; and Royal Mail’s two agencies in the United States: Interpost, Box 420, Hewlett, NY 11557; and the British Stamp Service in North America, 1 Unicover Center, Cheyenne, WY 82008.