UK makes sure queen's head will grace its stamps

Britain's business minister says he will guarantee that the monarch's head will appear on British postage stamps even if Royal Mail is sold to a foreign buyer.

Sculptor Arnold Machin's depiction of a youthful Queen Elizabeth II has appeared on billions of stamps since it was first commissioned in 1967 and has become a classic of British design.

So there was disquiet when media reports suggested that plans to part-privatize the Royal Mail could mean that the queen's head would disappear from Britain's letters and parcels.

Business Minister Ed Davey told the Mail on Sunday newspaper that he would put forward an amendment to make it impossible for a buyer to remove the monarch's image from stamps without royal assent.