Is the Queen’s Birthday Now the King’s Birthday?

This weekend many states around Australia will be celebrating a public holiday. While some regions like New South Wales and South Australia will take the day off for Labour Day, other states like Queensland will be celebrating the Queen’s Birthday. Except, given the recent passing of Queen Elizabeth, does this mean it’s the King’s birthday now?

When will the Queen’s birthday change to become the King’s birthday?

Western Australia celebrated the sovereign’s birthday on September 26 and had already amended it to the King’s birthday, in reflection of the new monarch King Charles III. However, as the ABC points out, many other Australian states are still in the process of updating their calendars.

It’s possible that the public holiday won’t officially change its name until after Charles’ coronation, but expect to see your calendars change soon.

Will the public holiday date stay the same?

Spoiler alert: The Queen’s birthday was not in June. Nor is King Charles’.

The sovereign’s birthday always takes place in June, simply because the weather is better in the UK. A summer’s day is easier to host parades and enjoy the sunshine and whatnot. It may be winter here in the southern hemisphere, but we’ll take a day off where we can get it.

It’s likely this tradition will continue, even though we have a new monarch. Charles’ birthday takes place on November 14, so he will now also receive two birthday celebrations a year. The perks of being king.

As we’ve seen in Australia, the King/Queen’s birthday is a flexible date, with WA having moved their celebrations to September and Queensland theirs to October. The state and territory governments are responsible for choosing public holiday dates so, apart from the fact it’s tradition, there’s no reason the King’s birthday has to remain in June.

While most Commonwealth countries just received a bonus holiday in recognition of the Queen’s passing, Britain will also get a public holiday for King Charles’ coronation, whenever that may be. We haven’t seen a coronation in 70 years so it’s difficult to say whether Australia will also mark the occasion with an extra public holiday.

The public holiday name isn’t the only thing that’s set to change with King Charles’ ascension. Aussie coins are also changing for the first time in decades.