One of the perks for Elizabeth II of being the Queen was that she got to have two birthdays.
Over her reign she actually celebrated her birthday over 140 times owing to the fact she had two. But will her son, the newly proclaimed Prince Charles get the same privilege?
To answer this question we need to understand why the Queen had two birthdays in the first place. The tradition of the King or Queen celebrating two birthdays goes all the way back to 1748, during the reign of King George II.
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George's birthday fell in late autumn, when it was deemed the weather wasn’t suitable for a large, public celebration in honour of his birthday with all the pomp and circumstance we have come to expect.
The decision was therefore made that the birthday celebrations would be combined with the Trooping the Colour parade in summer, a ceremony. Now given that the Queen was born on April 21, 1926 (by caesarean section at her maternal grandparents’ house in Mayfair if you are interested), she also has a birthday which could land in some patchy weather.
Because of this her second birthday, described as being her “official birthday”, usually takes place on the second Saturday of June. She used to mark her official birthday on the second Thursday of June, the same day her father, King George VI but this was changed in 1959, seven years after the Queen ascended to the throne.
There hasn't yet been any official confirmation on whether Charles will also get a second birthday. However given that his birthday is in November (the same month as George II who started this tradition), and the monarchy love their traditions, it seems likely he will also get a second birthday bash, probably combined the annual Trooping the Colour celebrations.
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