Whanganui Regional Museum director Don Cimino receives his MBE from Queen Elizabeth II in the Queen's Birthday Honours in 1981. Whanganui Regional Museum Collection Ref: MM/103
Whanganui Regional Museum director Don Cimino receives his MBE from Queen Elizabeth II in the Queen's Birthday Honours in 1981. Whanganui Regional Museum Collection Ref: MM/103
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Today is the official celebration of the Queen's Birthday.
Around the country, schools and many businesses are closed, and most of us are enjoying a day off.
The first official Monarch's Birthday was celebrated in Great Britain in 1748 for King George II.
The day of celebration has changedthroughout the centuries and is decided on by the sovereigns themselves, or in bylaws passed by local governments.
The celebration is marked by many countries of the Commonwealth, usually around the end of May or beginning of June, but the day can differ from country to country.
Queen Elizabeth II's birthday is on April 21.
Her father, King George VI, celebrated the Royal Birthday on the second Thursday in June and the Queen followed this for the first seven years of her reign before changing it to the first Monday in June in 1959.
Portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, 1954. Whanganui Regional Museum Collection Ref: D50/103
In London, the day is marked by the Trooping of the Colour, a parade which has taken place for over 260 years.
Although cancelled recently due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the parade usually involves 1400 soldiers, 200 horses, 400 musicians and countless spectators lining the Mall to watch the spectacle, followed by the Royal Air Force aerial display.
In New Zealand, the day is marked with the reading of the Honours List where the service of hundreds of recipients is acknowledged.
Local celebrations are often held in Whanganui, but this year Queen's Birthday weekend looks as if it will be very quiet.
The Wanganui Vintage Car Club celebrates with its annual rally. The highlight for most is having a day off work and school.
In 2009 a suggestion to rename this holiday Hillary Weekend, after Sir Edmund Hillary, was made but never took off.
In recent years, a movement to celebrate Puanga/Matariki as a more relevant holiday in Aotearoa New Zealand has been approved by the Government.
The first official commemoration of Puanga/Matariki will be held on June 24, 2022.
• Sandi Black is the archivist at Whanganui Regional Museum.
