The Queen Elizabeth Two Birthdays

10 June saw us celebrating Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday, but did you know that’s not when her actual birthday is?

21 April. That’s the date she was born on – the June date is simply an official commemoration. It is a long standing UK tradition that the monarch has an ‘official’ birthday – chosen so that it falls conveniently on one of the first three Saturdays in June, coinciding (hopefully!) with the sunny weather. Elizabeth II’s natural birthday, 21 April, happens to come a little too early in the year to be sure of good enough weather for a grand outdoor event.

The tradition stems from 1748, during King George II’s reign, over 250 years ago.