Isle of Man offers a postal birth congratulations for new princess

The Isle of Man Post Office celebrated the birth of Charlotte Elizabeth Diana, fourth in line to the British throne, on a pane of eight stamps and four labels announced just hours after her birth on May 2.

A similar pane was issued July 31, 2013, to herald the birth of her big brother, George Alexander Louis.

The announcement of the birth of Princess Charlotte of Cambridge appears on the four labels in the center of the pane, flanked by two stamps showing her parents, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, also called Prince William and Catherine or Kate Middleton. The same designs previously appeared on £1 stamps in a 2011 souvenir sheet celebrating the couple’s royal wedding (Scott 1435), as well as on the 2013 pane for Prince George of Cambridge. The Isle of Man calls the stamps in the new pane “reprints.”

The label for the newborn princess is in gold and pink. The top part of the label design includes a crown with the time of birth, 8:34 a.m., on the left and the baby’s weight, 8 pounds and 3 ounces, on the right. Inscribed below this is “Announcing the Birth of HRH The Princess of Cambridge.” The birth date, “2nd May 2015,” appears beneath a pink ribbon.

The selvage of the pane also is pink with a note of congratulations to William and Katherine at the top and “A baby sister for HRH Prince George at the bottom.”

For information on the pane of stamps and associated products, visit the Isle of Man Post Office’s website. The items currently are offered on pre-order on the website. The issue date, according to the Isle of Man Post Office, is May. 11.