Why does the UK Queen have two birthdays?

London: Anyone unlucky enough to have their birthday fall in the middle of a global pandemic may be planning two big days this year — one on the actual date, and another when they can finally celebrate with friends.
On that front, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II is well ahead of the curve.

The monarch has enjoyed two birthdays a year since she ascended the throne, and the tradition actually started a lot further back than that.
The Queen’s real birthday is April 21, meaning she turned 94 on Tuesday.

But she reaches for her party hat again in June. British monarchs have doubled up on the festivities since the 18th century, holding an “official” birthday each year for a public celebration, and tending to celebrate more privately on the real date.

But why does she have two? It’s pretty simple — no-one wants to celebrate their birthday in the rain, and so, ever since the 1740s, monarchs have enjoyed a second birthday, with far more pomp, in the summer.How the British monarch got a second birthdayThe tradition is believed to have started with the party-loving King George II in 1748. That is the year that Britain’s annual Trooping the Colour celebration was first associated with the sovereign’s birthday. George’s real birthday was in November, when British weather is often far from ideal.

So the Queen would usually enjoy a traditional royal gun salute, and government buildings around the UK fly the Union Jack flag on the date.

That tradition of flag-flying is extended to a number of royal occasions, including the birthdays of all senior royals — but it had some pushback earlier this year when several local authorities refused to fly a flag honoring Prince Andrew.
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