<P> In New Zealand, the holiday is the first Monday in June . Celebrations are mainly official, including the Queen's Birthday Honours list and military ceremonies . There have been proposals, with some political support, to replace the holiday with Matariki (Māori New Year) as an official holiday . The idea of renaming the Queen's Birthday weekend to Hillary weekend, after mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary, was raised in 2009 . </P> <P> The monarch's birthday has been celebrated in the United Kingdom since 1748, during the reign of King George II . The Queen's Official Birthday was originally celebrated on the second Thursday of June, the same day that her father, King George VI, celebrated his Official Birthday during his reign . However, this was changed in 1959, seven years after she became Queen, and her Official Birthday has since then been celebrated on the second Saturday of June . Edward VII, who reigned from 1901 to 1910 and whose birthday was on 9 November, after 1908 moved the ceremony to summer in the hope of good weather . </P> <P> The day is marked in London by the ceremony of Trooping the Colour, which is also known as the Queen's Birthday Parade . The list of Birthday Honours is also announced at the time of the Official Birthday celebrations . In British diplomatic missions, the day is treated as the National Day of the United Kingdom . Although it is not celebrated as a specific public holiday in the UK, some civil servants are given a "privilege day" at this time of year, which is often merged with the Spring Bank Holiday (last Monday in May) to create a long weekend, which was partly created to celebrate the monarch's birthday . </P> <P> Parts of Scotland also mark Queen Victoria's birthday on the third Monday in May . Local government and higher education institutions typically close on this day . </P>

Is the queen's birthday a public holiday in england