First of all, Happy Birthday to Queen Elizabeth II! She’s 95 years young today.
While April 21 is her real birthday… her official birthday celebration is in June (usually the second Saturday). So why does the Queen get TWO birthdays? Pretty simple answer actually… the weather. Because April 21 is usually too cold for a proper parade over in England, they do it up big in June with a parade, party, outdoor celebration and everything when the weather is a bit nicer.
She wasn’t the first to do it this way. It all started back in 1748, with King George II. His birthday was in one of the more chilly months of the year, November. He didn’t want everyone to catch colds so he started the 2 birthday tradition. Personally, I think he just wanted more gifts.
Photo credit: Steve Reigate/Pool via REUTERS