From 2023, the Queen’s Birthday public holiday will be known as the King’s Birthday. The name change comes following the ascension of King Charles III to the throne in September 2022 following the death of Australia’s longest reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II.

Queen Elizabeth II reigned as monarch for 70 years, taking the throne in 1952. Following the death of her father King George VI, Elizabeth ascended to the throne at just 25 years of age, ruling until her death at the age of 96.

Excluding a legislative amendment made to the states’ respective Public Holidays Acts to change the name, in practice nothing else about the day should be different

King Charles III was born on November 14th 1948 in Buckingham Palace. He ascended to the throne following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II on Thursday September 8th 2022.

Despite the November birthday, the day is usually in June in the UK. This is because having a summer birthday means a higher chance of good weather in England during the Trooping the Colour parade for the monarch’s birthday.

The King is the monarch of 15 countries, the United Kingdom and 14 commonwealth realms.

Since 1748, the monarch’s official birthday has been marked by an outdoor parade known as Trooping the Colour which was usually held on the king or queen’s actual birthday. Edward VII, who reigned from 1901 to 1910, was born in November. Instead of making the troops parade on a cold and dark November morning, the tradition began of celebrating his birthday officially in May or June as there was less chance of it being chilly and drizzly during the event. This tradition was then carried on by subsequent monarchs.