[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
250th anniversary of the birth of King William I

Date of issue: 20 June 2022
Presentation: sheet of 6 postage stamps in 3 designs,
marked ‘Internationaal 1′, the denomination for items up to 20g in weight destined for delivery outside of the Netherlands.
Item number: 420662
Design: Nicole Uniquole, in collaboration with Graphic Design students from ArtEZ University of the Arts, Zwolle

On 20 June 2022, PostNL will issue the 250th anniversary of the birth of King William I stamp sheet to mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of the first king of the House of Orange-Nassau. In addition to portraits of King William I and his wife Wilhelmina of Prussia, the stamps also feature the Fulda city palace. William I ruled over the Principality of Nassau-Orange-Fulda in Germany for several years before becoming king of our country. The six postage stamps will be marked ‘Nederland 1’, the denomination for items weighing up to 20g destined for the Netherlands.

Prince William Frederick (1772-1843), the son of Stadholder William V, ruled over our country as William I, and he was the first king of the house of Orange-Nassau. He was born in the Hague 250 years ago. In 1791, he married Wilhelmina of Prussia. They had five children together, among them the son who later became King William II.

Prince William Frederick ruled as Fürst over Fulda from 1802 to 1806 until the German principality was captured by the French. He returned to his homeland as sovereign in 1813, and in 1815 he was proclaimed King William I of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands (present-day Belgium and the Netherlands). In addition, he was also the Grand Duke of Luxembourg.

He distinguished himself during his reign by upholding the reforms from the French era and making significant investments in industry, trade and the construction of many canals and roads. In 1840, he abdicated and was succeeded by his eldest son. William I died in Berlin in 1843 and his remains were interred in the Royal Crypt in the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft.

The 250th anniversary of the birth of King William I issue features six postage stamps in three different designs. For the monochrome images on the stamps, cut-outs were used from paintings depicting William I (Joseph Paelinck, 1819, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam), his wife Wilhelmina of Prussia (Jean-Baptiste van der Hulst, 1833, Royal Collections, the Hague) and a photograph of the Fulda Palace Castle in Germany (Christian Tech, 1980, Petersberg, Fulda). Next to each image on the stamp and on the right side of the sheet edge there is a collage of Maltese crosses in red, white, blue and orange. The stamps also feature the official monogram of William I twice. The tabs alongside the stamps indicate the international Priority designation along with a description of the image on the stamps. The text on the sheet edge provides background information about King William I, the 250th anniversary of his birth and the anniversary exhibition to be held in Fulda from 18 June to 25 August 2022.

Technical Details:
Stamp size 36 x 25mm
Sheet size 108 x 150mm
Paper normal with phosphor print
Gum gummed
Printing technique offset
Printing colours cyan, magenta, yellow, blue and black
Edition 60,000 sheets
Appearance sheet of 6 stamps in 3 different designs
Design Nicole Uniquole, in collaboration with Graphic Design students from ArtEZ University of the Arts, Zwolle
Printing company Koninklijke Joh. Enschedé B.V., Haarlem
Item number 420662