Gavin Macrae, Managing Director Royal Mail stamps and collectibles, said: “As we anticipated, public demand for Royal Mail’s Queen Mother commemorative stamp issue has been exceptional.

“I have heard anecdotal evidence from our network of Post Officeä branches that sales have been ‘crazy’ in many offices and stocks of the Queen Mother stamps are running low in some smaller branches.

“I would like to reassure customers that stocks of Presentation Packs and First Day covers are available and that no member of the public wishing to buy a commemorative item will be disappointed.”

He added: “People can also obtain Queen Mother stamps by ordering from the Royal Mail orderline: 08457 641 641 or on-line at www.royalmail.com.”