Queen Elizabeth II had a $12.7 million hobby — collecting stamps
Return to sender.
King Charles, 74, may be the son and heir of the late Queen Elizabeth, but that doesn’t mean they have everything in common — for example, a love of one of his mother’s favorite pastimes, stamp collecting.
The monarch gained a reputation as quite the philatelist, leaving the family collection with a value of about $127 million, the Sunday Times and Guardian reported.
Elizabeth, who passed away last September at 96, was the fifth royal family member, according to the Daily Express, to put her stamp on the Royal Philatelic Collection.
The collection was started by the Duke of York, who later became King George V, during the late 1800s.
It has been said that the queen even showed off the collection to visiting heads of state, the Sunday Times claimed.
But according to a new report, the tradition won’t be continuing under Charles.
According to the outlet, the king has other hobbies he enjoys far more, like watercolor painting and tending to his garden, and doesn’t seem too keen on collecting postage.
However, the Guardian reported Charles did inherit the collection from his mother after she died.
The Post reached out to Buckingham Palace for comment.
When he was still known as the Prince of Wales, Charles shared gardening tips with BBC Radio 4, delving deeper into his “lifelong passion.”
His No. 1 piece of advice was to enjoy what you’re doing.
“Before you rush into things, see what you like and don’t like and then get stuck in,” he told BBC at the time.
“For me it’s the most marvelous, therapeutic business,” he continued. “You can get reward from it, but you can also be driven mad by it.”
And, it looks like a love for gardening is something that he and his wife, Queen Camilla, 75, have in common.
During an official visit to Northern Ireland with her husband in May, the queen revealed that she really enjoyed planting different things, but that it can sometimes make her “creak” and “groan.”
“I love gardening,” the queen said while visiting the historic Armagh Robinson library in Northern Ireland, according to the Independent.
The trip was their first since Charles was officially crowned in a grand coronation ceremony, which took place on May 6 at Westminster Abbey.
During the coronation concert, on May 7, Prince William, 41, who is next in line for the throne, made an emotional speech in tribute to his father.
He praised his dad for his passion for service throughout his life.
“My father’s first words, on entering Westminster Abbey yesterday, were a pledge of service,” William said at the time.
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