Tonight I looked at my calendar for inspiration and noticed it was Queen’s Birthday in Australia except for W AUS. This made me think of a post that I had previously written about the Queen’s Birthday in September.

I had done some research on this in the past and found that the Queen’s Birthday was not celebrated on the same day in all the countries of the Commonwealth. The celebration of the Queen’s Birthday or King’s Birthday is not based on the actual date of birth of the reigning monarch, but is usually held in late May or June.

I found out that for most of Australia the date for the Queen’s Birthday was the second Monday in June. In Western Australia, they celebrate the founding of their state on the first Monday of June, so they moved the celebration of the Queen’s Birthday to September or October. This is nice for them as they get an extra holiday.

In other areas of the Commonwealth the date varies and is usually set so that public holidays are spaced more evenly throughout the year.

Canada will now celebrate the sovereign’s birthday as Victoria Day in late May.

Of course with the coronation of King Charles III the name of the holiday in Australia has reverted to King’s Birthday and there are still some who will remember when it carried that name when King George VI was the monarch.

You can learn a lot by looking up the different holidays that are noted on your calendar.

Steven