The Hong Kong postal service was founded in August 1841, but it was not until December 8, 1862 that it issued its first postage stamp, bearing the portrait of Queen Victoria.
The post office's definitive stamps were subsequently revised for successive English monarchs, in 1903 for King Edward VII, in 1912 for King George V, and in stages from 1938 for King George VI.
The first definitive stamps bearing the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II were issued on January 5, 1954, and the designs were changed five times.
The first set of definitives not bearing any British sovereign connotations was issued on February 26, 1997.
Post handover, the first pictorial definitive stamps were released on October 18, 1999, bearing the inscription 'Hong Kong, China'.
The second set of definitive stamps issued since the establishment of the Hong Kong special administrative region - the current set - was issued on October 14, 2002.