More Birthdays For King Charles!
LIKE HIS BELOVED MAMA, HE’LL GET PLENTY OF PRESENTS
Before King Charles’ mother Queen Elizabeth II died, it was her (as British Monarch ) who had the privileged … or was it a burden? … to have multiple birthdays every year!
Yes, it’s true … the British Monarch has many many birthdays … every year! And now that King Charles is on the throne, it’s his privilege or burden.
I wrote about this phenomenon in great detail in a story I published just prior to the Queen’s passing in 2022 … I gave it the title: Elizabeth II’s Birthdays … How Many? … She’s Had More Than You’d Think
You can read the ‘Elizabeth II’s birthday story’ now if you want to check-out the complexities of it all, by clicking on this link, or, you can read the mini-summary below. (I’ll put a box-link to the ‘full’ details of the Elizabeth story at the end of this article. So, you can read it then if you’d prefer that).
A Mini-summary of ‘The Monarch’s Birthdays’:
The British Monarch’s Official Birthday is the selected day in the UK and most British Commonwealth countries on which the birthday of the monarch is officially celebrated in those countries.
However, it does not necessarily correspond to the date of the monarch’s actual birth! … By-the-way, King Charles’ actual birthday in November 14.
The sovereign’s birthday was first officially marked in 1748, for King George II. Since that date the king or queen’s birthday has been determined throughout the British Empire & Commonwealth by royal proclamation, or by laws passed by each country’s national parliament or state parliaments.
The date of the celebration varies from country to country. Here are some examples:
United Kingdom:
Even here, where the Monarch resides, the royal birthday’s date has been changed several times.
Edward VII (1901 to 1910) was born on November 9th (almost winter-time), so he had it moved to summer a summer date in the hope of good weather! This ‘Official Birthday’ is now celebrated in June on a day that is marked in London by the ceremony of ‘Trooping the Colour’, which will now be known as the King’s Birthday Parade.
The photo shows guardsmen on horseback, flanked by the Union Jack Flag.
In the UK the King’s birthday is not celebrated as a public holiday, but some civil servants are given a “privilege day” (a day’s holiday!). There used to be 2.5 privilege days awarded each year to civil servants, but now, the King’s birthday is the last remaining one. (the other 1.5 days were abolished in 2014). Britain moves with the times! … slow……ly !!
Australia:
The date of the Monarch’s birthday is ‘all-over-the-place’ in Australia … different in some States than others, but unlike the UK, the birthday is a public holiday.
There are 8 Australian states and territories. Six of them observe the Queen’s Birthday on the second Monday in June. In the State of Western Australia the Queen’s representative (the Governor) proclaims the day on which the state will observe the Birthday, based on school terms and the Perth Royal Show! So, it therefore can vary! And to make matters worse, some regional areas of Western Australia celebrate the Queen’s Birthday with a public holiday on days that coincide with locally significant dates or events, like the local horse racing event!
The State of Queensland has a merry-old-time recognizing the birthday, with June and October, both featuring at one time or another with the first Monday of October being the one last used (for Elizabeth II’s birthday).
Want more Australian complications? Norfolk Island celebrates Bounty Day on 8 June, so Queen’s Birthday is held on the Monday after the second Saturday in June. Christmas Island (an Australian territory in the Indian Ocean) has other holidays and does not hold a Queen’s Birthday holiday at all!
Canada:
A royal proclamation issued on 5 February 1957 established the Canadian monarch’s official birthday as the last Monday before 25 May, but the history of Canada’s birthday decisions is very complex. The full version of Elizabeth II’s birthdays (link at end of this article) has all the details.
And how about this for yet another weird variation in Canada: The Queen’s official birthday is marked by flying the Union Jack Flag on certain buildings, but only if there is a second flag pole available!
New Zealand:
In New Zealand, Queen’s Birthday is a public holiday observed on the first Monday in June. There have been proposals to replace the holiday with Matariki (Māori New Year) as an official holiday. Also, NZ came up with the idea of renaming the Queen’s Birthday weekend ‘Hillary Weekend’, after mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary, (the first to conquer Mount Everest) This suggestion was raised in 2009 … we wait !!
British Overseas Territories & Other Commonwealth countries:
The Queen’s official birthday is a public holiday in most British overseas territories, and in most other Commonwealth countries. For instance: Tuvalu celebrates the Queen’s Official Birthday on the second Saturday of June. In Saint Kitts and Nevis, the date of the holiday is set each year. Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands do so on the second Monday of June. Cook Islands, a self-governing country in free association with New Zealand, also celebrates the holiday on the second Monday of June.
Fiji (who abolished the monarchy in 1987, following a military coup d’état) have continued to be celebrated each 12 June until 2012, but in that year, the government announced the holiday would be abolished.
So, how many birthdays does the British Monarch have each year? I don’t know … I gave up counting when I reached 200. One thing is clear though … The King will be loaded with presents !!!
In case you’ve forgotten:
The promised box-link with ‘all the birthday details’ in full:
And if you’d like to see ALL Fred’s Royal Stories, use this box-link:
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‘More Birthdays For King Charles’ by Fred: writer on Medium ******** © Fred Ogden 2023 ********
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