Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the throne in 1952, and Hong Kong stamps featuring her portrait were first issued in 1954. They were almost identical to the definitive stamps used in the reign of King George VI, but the queen’s head was now turned to the left. The 1-cent, 2-cent and 8-cent denominations were taken out of circulation, making 5 cents the lowest denomination of the new definitive stamps. The highest denomination continued to be $10. In June 1960, 65-cent and $1.3 stamps were added as the second-class and first-class airmail postage to Britain and Europe.

Early sets in Queen Elizabeth’s reign were produced by De La Rue & Co. Ltd., which had designed and printed Hong Kong’s definitive stamps since 1862 and which thus played a significant role in the retention of the almost uniform design that had characterised Hong Kong’s stamps for a century.