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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
Nathan Bevan

Why does the Queen have two birthdays?

Ever wonder why the Queen has two birthdays? Because while Her Majesty's actual birthday falls on April 21 - she also gets a second bash on June 11.

Well, it's really all to do with tradition and dates back to the time of King George II. In 1748 he decided that being a November baby meant the British weather probably wouldn't be good enough to host a big public celebration. So, he decided sometime during the summer months might be more suitable - that way there'd at least be a fighting chance for the sun to be shining.

The Queen's great-grandfather, Edward VII, also had a November birthday and standardised the summer 'official' birthday celebrations during his reign. And that's been passed down to our current monarch - her April birthday usually being celebrated with a 41-gun salute in London's Hyde Park, a 21-gun salute in Windsor Great Park and a 62-gun salute at the Tower of London.

Read more: Thousands of Royal Jubilee memorabilia plates have an awkward typo and could be worth £291,000

However, the rest of the day is usually spent privately with those closest to her. But come June's more clement climate, there'll be the much more spectator-friendly Trooping the Colour, which the Royal Family's website explains as being "over 1,400 parading soldiers, 200 horses and 400 musicians coming together in a great display of military precision, horsemanship and fanfare."

The display, which took place on June 2 and was open to the public, ends with a flypast from the RAF - watched by Royal Family members from the Buckingham Palace balcony - and a 41-gun salute is also fired in Green Park.

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