THE Elizabethan splendour of Oakwell Hall was chosen to launch Royal Mail’s latest stamps.

It was fitting that the Birstall manor house, built in 1583 by the Batt family, should be chosen.

For the new stamps, on sale from today, are the second in its Kings and Queens series celebrating the royal houses of England.

Liz Yems and Ian Grange, of Kirklees Council’s museums and galleries department, donned period costume to showcase the House of Tudor stamps.

The stamps mark the 500th anniversary of the accession of Henry VIII, and feature portraits of the six monarchs who ruled during one of the most famous – and infamous – periods in our history.

From the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 to the death of Good Queen Bess in 1603, the age of the House of Tudor saw some of our best-known kings and queens sit upon the English throne.

Henry VII, the first monarch of the Tudor dynasty, is shown on one of two First Class stamps in the set, with his son, and perhaps England’s most famous king, Henry VIII, depicted on the other.

A portrait of Edward VI, England’s first Protestant ruler and son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour, Henry’s third wife, appears on a 62p stamp, as does Lady Jane Grey, who reigned for just nine days in 1553 before being deposed by Mary.

Mary I restored the Roman Catholic Church in England and is remembered for her persecution of Protestants. She is shown on one of a pair of 81p stamps, with her stepsister Elizabeth I represented on the other.

Elizabeth restored the primacy of Protestantism in the country and turned England into a leading maritime power.

Clr Christine Stanfield: “We are delighted that Oakwell Hall has been selected for the launch of the new Royal Mail stamps.”

Julietta Edgar, Head of Special Stamps at Royal Mail, said: “Kings and Queens is one of the most significant series of stamps ever issued.”