King’s Official Birthday in New Zealand, Niue and the Cook Islands Date in the current year: June 3, 2024
The King’s Official Birthday is a common public holiday in the Commonwealth realms and British Overseas Territories. It is typically observed in June. For example, New Zealand and its associated states, the Cook Island and Niue, celebrate the official birthday of the King on the first Monday in June.The King’s Birthday celebrations in New Zealand are mostly official. They include public speeches, military ceremonies, etc. The King’s Birthday Honours List is released on the occasion. Since the King’s Official Birthday is a public holiday, government offices, educational institutions, banks, and most businesses are closed, and people enjoy the final day of a long weekend.
Another special event of the holiday is the official opening of the ski season. New Zealand is located in the Southern Hemisphere, where June is the first month of winter. It is a major skiing destination in the Southern Hemisphere; most ski resorts are situated on the South Island.
There have been proposals to replace the King’s Birthday with Māori New Year (Matariki) as a public holiday. Matariki indeed became a public holiday in 2022, but in addition to the monarch’s birthday and not instead of it. In 2009, it was suggested that the sovereign’s birthday weekend be renamed Hillary weekend to honor Sir Edmund Hillary, a New Zealand mountaineer who was the first to climb Mount Everest.
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- Public Holidays
Country
- New Zealand, Cook Islands, Niue
Tags
- King’s Official Birthday in New Zealand, holidays in New Zealand, public holiday, holidays in Niue, holidays in the Cook Islands