Queen Elizabeth II in Saint Lucia

Again at the Stamp Festival, I found another royal postcard (non used for correspondance like the first one). This time, let's go to the Caribbean. In Saint Lucia, politically independent since 1979 after a period of Statehood associated to the United Kingdom after 1967.

The island was still a British dependency when a definitive series was issued on first March 1964. It comprised the same stamp as on the postcard for the five low values (1 to 6 cents), and two extracts of a Queen Elizabeth II portrait and six lanscapes with the same portrait in a medailon or the monogram (EIIR crowned) for the higher values from 8 cents to 2.50 dollars.

At the time of the issue, the currency was the British West Indies dollar, replaced in saint Lucia by the East Caribbean dollar in 1965.

The low value type stamp, like the illustration of the card, are extracted from a painting of the Queen by Major A. C. Davidson Houston for a British regiment, the Royal Welch Fusiliers, as printed on the back of the card:
The D'n'D Stamps website gave the Major's name for the 1970 issue of a five dollar stamp picturing the seated portrait, that already appeared on the 8 cent stamp in 1964.

The Castries datestamp is not entirely readable. I would say : "21 MY / 68" or "63". Too late either way for a first day card (if the Stanley Gibbons catalogue is correct), but a nice correspondence between the portraits done more than thirty years ago.