Why does queen have two birthdays

At first it was strictly a military event, at which regiments displayed their flags—or colours —so that soldiers could familiarize themselves.

But George was known as a formidable general after having led troops at the Battle of Dettingen in , so the military celebration seemed a fitting occasion onto which to graft his warm-weather birthday. Edward VII, who also had a November birthday, was the first to standardize the June Trooping the Colour and launched a tradition of a monarchical review of the troops that drew crowds of onlookers. Even now, the date of the "official" birthday varies year to year.

For the first seven years of her reign, Elizabeth II held her official birthday on a Thursday but has since switched over to Saturdays. Although her actual birthday is in April, she also has an official birthday that is celebrated every year on a Saturday in June.

Sovereigns whose real birthdays fall in colder months have often celebrated an official birthday on a different date in the hope of good weather for their birthday parade, known as the Trooping the Colour. Because British weather can be cold on April 21, the Queen's official birthday celebration usually falls on the second Saturday of June.

This year, however, due to social-distancing measures, the Queen will watch a smaller private military ceremony at Windsor Castle without any other family members.

Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. Sign up for Sidekick to get the best recs for smarter living. Loading Something is loading. Email address. The Queen: Why does she have two birthdays? Why not on the actual day? Here is The Queen as a baby being held by her mum and dad, then known as the Duke and Duchess of York, in a photo taken on 1 May Here is the Queen as a baby being introduced to the world on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, alongside her parents and her grandparents.

How does she mark her birthdays? Getty Images. This is a picture of the gun salute that took place in Hyde Park in April What is Trooping the Colour? The Trooping the Colour parade is quite a spectacle! What will happen this year? The Queen inspecting the troops at Trooping the Colour in More like this. Queen in colour: 11 of Her Majesty's marvellous outfits 19 Apr 19 April Pictures: horses in big show for Queen's 90th birthday 16 May 16 May We look back at the Queen's 90 years in 90 seconds 21 Apr 21 April New pictures released of the Queen as a child 14 May 14 May Show more.

Your Comments Join the conversation. To use comments you will need to have JavaScript enabled. PugicornGG 17 Jun I know its late but happy birthday queen!! Dragonlover 15 Jun So Lucky having two birthday's! I wish I had. Can you think of a more English reason?

Summer is the only time for a proper parade. In fact, the tradition dates all the way back to King George II in , who combined the annual summer military march with his birthday celebration, even though he was born in October. Ever since, the reigning monarch has had the option of having an official birthday in the summertime.

And let's be honest, who would turn down the opportunity to have two birthdays?