Queen’s Birthday: June 14
Queen’s Birthday is a public holiday in Australia, Fiji, and New Zealand.
The Commonwealth countries, or Commonwealth Realms, celebrates the Queen’s Birthday on the second Monday of June. The current monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, she was born on April 21, 1926, so the date does not follow the exact date of the birth of the Queen, and it is celebrated in different dates in other Commonwealth nations.
History of Queen’s Birthday
The Commonwealth of Australia is a constitutional monarchy based on a federal division of powers. The present monarch of Australia is Elizabeth II, styled Queen of Australia, since February 6, 1952. She is represented in Australia by the Governor General and in the other states by a governor, appointed directly by the Queen and the Federal government. She is also the reigning monarch of the other fifteen Commonwealth countries.
Queen Elizabeth’s official title is Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God Queen of Australia and Her other Realms and Territories, Head of the Commonwealth. Australia, except the state of Western Australia, celebrates the Queen’s Birthday as a public holiday in the second Monday of June, which is also the opening of Australia’s snow season, even though there is no snow in which you can ski until later in the month. The date has been celebrated since 1788, declared as a holiday to mark the birthday of King George III. Until 1936 it was a movable holiday that followed the actual date of the birth of the King, or Queen. After the death of King George V in 1936, it was decided to keep the date around mid-year in June.
Queen’s Birthday Traditions, Customs and Activities
The day isn’t that important for Australians that kind of live apart from the monarchy. Besides the Prime Minister and Federal Government official celebrations and congratulatory speeches, there is the release of the Queen’s Birthday Honors list, with the names of the new members of the Order of Australia and other Australian honors. Traditionally there is a football game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground between the Collingwood Magpies and the Melbourne Demons. There are some fireworks displays in the cities to celebrate the Queen’s Birthday, but these are nothing compared to the worldwide famous fireworks of New Years Eve in Sidney.
Other interesting posts:
- Solomon Islands Celebrates the Queen’s Birthday
- Cambodia Celebrates Birthday of Her Royal Highness (HRH) Queen Mother Norodom Monineath Sihanouk
- Queen’s Birthday
- Thailand H.M. Queen’s Birthday
- Thailand Celebrates the Birthday of Their King
Other interesting posts:
