King's Birthday 2024 in the United Kingdom

On the third Saturday in June, people in the UK celebrate the official birthday of King Charles III. The birthday of his predecessor, Queen Elizabeth II, was celebrated on a different date.

Is King's Birthday a Public Holiday?

Even though King's Birthday falls on Saturday, June 15, 2024, it is a working day. Most businesses follow regular opening hours in United Kingdom.

Celebrated since 2023

Although people in the UK have celebrated the official birthday of the reigning monarch in June for decades, King’s Birthday in its current form was introduced in 2023.

Following an announcement by the British authorities in December 2022, the official birthday of King Charles III will be celebrated on the third Saturday in June each year.

The official birthday of his predecessor, Queen Elizabeth II, was observed on the second Saturday in June up until her passing in 2022.

Holidays change worldwide after Queen’s death

Trooping the Colour

The monarch’s official birthday is traditionally marked by Trooping the Colour, a spectacular parade that moves between Buckingham Palace, The Mall, and Horseguards’ Parade.

This display of pageantry has been an annual tradition for over 260 years. It usually involves more than 1400 soldiers, and hundreds of musicians and horses.

King Charles III travels up The Mall either on horseback or in a horse-drawn carriage, and makes a public appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with other members of the royal family. There is also a fly-past by the Royal Air Force and a 41-gun salute in Green Park to mark the occasion.

The Household Division

The Trooping of the Colour is performed by regiments of the Household Division, a branch of the British Army responsible for state ceremonial and public duties in London and Windsor.

The reigning monarch usually acts as the Colonel-in-Chief for the division, and most of its seven regiments have a Colonel who is also a member of the Royal Family.

Not the Real Birthday

King’s Birthday is not the king’s actual birthday; King Charles III was born on November 14, 1948.

The monarch’s birthday has been an official celebration in the UK since 1748, when King George II reigned. King Edward VII, whose actual birthday was on November 9, first moved the official birthday to late spring in 1908 to increase the chance of fair weather during the birthday celebrations in the United Kingdom. In the Northern Hemisphere, June is the first month of summer and one of the driest and warmest months of the year in London.

Since 1959, Queen Elizabeth II’s official birthday was on the second Saturday of June. The monarch’s official birthday celebration was moved to the third Saturday in June when King Charles III ascended the throne.

While we diligently research and update our holiday dates, some of the information in the table above may be preliminary. If you find an error, please let us know.