Confused about Queen’s Birthday? You’re not the only one! The Queen’s Official Birthday is celebrated on a different day in each of her countries – and in neither of them is it a static date! While New Zealand history traditionally celebrates the birth of The Queen on the first Monday in June each year, read on to find out when other commonwealth countries celebrate this date – and where the tradition began.

The Queen was born on April 21, 1926 – but The Queen’s official birthday is celebrated in New Zealand on the first Monday in June. Confused? Let’s add a little more oddity to the mix: in Australia it is celebrated on the second Monday in June, in the UK on either the first, second or third Saturday in June, and in Canada on or the Monday before May 24. Let’s start at the beginning…

The origins of the Sovereign’s Birthday:
The tradition of having an official Queen’s Birthday date begun centuries ago for practical reasons. Monarchs whose birthdays fell during the British winter months often stumbled upon problems due to the cold, wet weather. “Don’t rain on my parade” would certainly have been an appropriate saying, as foul English weather often would spoil the many marches, parades and other outdoor celebrations to commemorate the birth of the Sovereign.

King Edward VII, who was born in November, encountered such wet weather problems and was the first Monarch to celebrate their official day on a separate date, he held celebrations at the beginning of summer in May or June.

Several succeeding Sovereigns had their birthdays during the warmer months of the year, however the tradition was reinstalled by The Queen’s father, King George VI. He was born in the freezing month in Britain of December, so subsequently moved his official day to June, where sunnier weather was more likely, and thus outdoor celebrations would be welcomely appreciated.

The Queen’s Birthday in England
Several critics of The Queen’s Official Birthday’s varied observance dates believe the changing of the date each year is an outdated peculiarity. Some believe this issue should have been tackled and made redundant by Prime Minister Tony Blair as part of his modernisation of the British monarchy campaign. It is common belief amongst the British public that it is merely a reminder of the days before telephones, faxes or computers when celebrations could not be coordinated, and confuses the public, displaying an example of  Buckingham Palace’s poor grip on public relations in England.

Nevertheless, Queen’s Birthday is an honoured day throughout Britain, celebrated with the Trooping the Colour ceremony. This ceremony, also called the Queen’s Birthday Parade, allows the Household Division – the most elite or historically senior military units of Britain – to pay personal tribute by displaying their colours, or flags, in an outdoor parade. The Queen arrived at her first official Trooping the Colour parade in 1952 on horseback, and did so for over 40 years until her last beloved horse passed away. She has attended via car since the mid-1990s.

Though Queen’s Birthday is such a celebrated day in Britain, as it falls on a weekend day rather than a working day, it is not a public holiday. However, those who work in the public sector are awarded a ‘privilege day’ at this time of year to allow them a long weekend.

The Queen’s Birthday in New Zealand
While commonwealth countries New Zealand and Australia are both in the Southern Hemisphere, Queen’s Birthday is still celebrated about the same time at in the Northern Hemisphere, which happens to be in our winter. This is done to avoid further confusion, and is not seen a problem as parades and other large commemorative events do not traditionally occur for this holiday on the southern side of the globe.

However, on this day The Queen’s Honours list is released, which makes appointments to the order of New Zealand for services to the public. There are hundreds of recipients of these orders each year for a very wide range of services to the New Zealand public, from services to television to services to prisoner welfare. The Queen’s Official Birthday in New Zealand often celebrates the official opening of ski season, as June is the first month of winter. In accordance with the Holidays Act, all of New Zealand’s working public are entitled to a paid day off, or paid day in lieu on this day.

This article was kindly supplied by NZS.