The Queen’s Birthday
Posted by | Under Birthdays! Tuesday Jul 15, 2008The US is not the only country that celebrates the birthdays of the most famous people in our society.
One of the grandest birthday celebrations is the Queen’s Official Birthday, also known simply as the Queen’s Birthday. It is a holiday that is celebrated in several Commonwealth countries. It is also now celebrated in Fiji, which is now a republic.
When appropriate the word Queen is replaced with King, and the actual date varies from country to country, but it usually doesn’t mark the actual birthday of the King or Queen.
Currently in the UK, the Queen’s birthday is celebrated the first, second, or third Saturday in June. The birthday is marked with the Trooping the Colour, also known as the Queen’s Birthday Parade.
The Trooping the Colour is a military ceremony performed by the British Army. The Queen or King is typically in the parade also, and Queen Elizabeth II rode horseback to the Trooping the Colour until 1987 when she began traveling in a phaeton.
The Queen’s Birthday has been celebrated annually in this matter since 1820, except in periods of mourning, in bad weather or other exceptional circumstances. In face, Edward the VII moved the date to June because it is generally the best weather in Britain.
In Australia, the Queen’s birthday is on the second Monday in June and is celebrated as a public holiday. It also marks the opening of Australias snow season.
In Canada, Victoria Day, which is their name for the Queen’s birthday, is celebrated the Monday on or before May 24, though there are some who acknowledge that it is to celebrate Queen Victoria and not the current Queen. It also marks the beginning of Canadian Summer.