Queen's official birthday in the UK

You might assume that the Queen of the United Kingdom enjoys her birthday once a year, like many other rulers, but it's not exactly true: Her Majesty actually celebrates two birthdays: one is official, which falls on the second Saturday of June, and the second is her actual birthday, which is April 21. Why so?

It turns out that official birthday celebrations in the UK depend on various circumstances. For example, the weather. It must be appropriate for the parades and other outdoor events. That's why it's become a tradition in the Royal Family to move the official birthday celebrations to summer, whereas the actual date is celebrated in a close circle of family members.

Queen's Official Birthday traditions 🏰

The first tradition is gun salute which marks the Queen's birthday. It takes place at various attractions, like Hyde Park, Windsor Great Park, and also the Tower of London (the spot varies each year, as well as the number of guns).

The second important event is called Trooping the Colour. It's the Birthday Parade, which looks like this: 🇬🇧💂🇬🇧👸🇬🇧💂🇬🇧, except there are many more guards and Union Jacks. Seriously, I will run out of emojis depicting it.

Plus, the Parade includes musicians and horses, so you should totally watch it live! And yeah, the Queen joins the Parade with the Royal Family, and travels back to the Buckingham Palace 🏰 — the official residence. There from the balcony Her Majesty will greet the well-wishers and enjoy the display of planes.

How can I congratulate the Queen? 🎂

I would suggest that you give up the idea of writing a traditional paper letter (it may not get through), and pay more attention to social media. The Royal Family has Instagram, so why don't you try your luck there? Post a story, tag the user, add these wonderful emojis from our Queen's Official Birthday set — and wait for the reaction as long as it takes! 🎉

Ok, maybe pigeon post is not such a bad idea after all 🤔