except in Western Australia.
I don't think it matters how long I live in Australia- or really anywhere- I will always have the same reaction to the Queen's Birthday Holiday. Huh? I can't quite figure it out. Which Queen? (Of England, I know... the current queen, the first queen, the next queen. Maybe Queens are like race horses and are all "born" on the same day.) And, why on my calendar does it say 9 June "Queen's Official Birthday tentative"?? Is it "Official" or is it "tentative"? Is there a King's Official Birthday? And, if "we" had a king and a queen, would we have 2 holiday weekends? Or, would they be "born" on the same weekend...and wouldn't that be incestuous??? And, what's up with WA? Birthday rebels?! Wonder if they have second birthdays for everyone in WA...
Where's my cake?
8 comments:
Her Majesty's actual birthday is April 21 according to Wikipedia. George V's birthday was June 3 so it may be his birthday we celebrate.
Hmmmm...so if we celebrate George V's birthday and call it the Queen's birthday...are we making some comment on George's, um, prediliction for dressing in women's garments?
Where do think the other meaning of the word "queen" comes from?
John- taking a lesson from you- I googled Queen, origin, and homosexual... No one claims to know the origin- but this is a pretty interesting article on "Queen James" http://www.infopt.demon.co.uk/jamesi.htm
In NZ the Queen's Birthday holiday is the first Monday in June. In Britain the Queen's official birthday is on yet another day in June but the nation doesn't get a holiday. She "troops the colour" on that day, ie watches some troops troop past. In colour presumably.
The main point is that you weren't celebrating the birthday of the Queen of England. You were celebrating the birthday of the Queen of Australia. It happens to be the same person at the moment, but it's important to understand this incredibly significant distinction :)
Thanks Cathi! I was wondering when the Queen's birthday would be celebrated in other countries of the commonwealth. And, the Queen of Australia- good point. I'm not sure what Australians would say ... but if Australia were ever to become independent- I doubt they'd find themselves a new queen. (How would you go about that?) Then, I guess, they'd spend their holiday in June watching "Pricilla..."- the only remaining "official" Australian Queen.
Ah- and my true bent comes out again- I'm much more interested in drag queens than royalty.
I know - I'm sure Aussies forget that she's Queen of Australia. If they went independent, presumably they'd set up an electable monarch, much like the US did in 1781 or whenever it was. The US President is much more like a monarch than the Queen of Britain
I think Australia should be independent of the Commonwealth, and I think the monarch should be elected by the federal parliament (or whatever they call it) of a term that's three times as long as the parliament's term. You need a long-term view, but it needn't be hereditary, and it needn't be elected by the population, and it shouldn't be tied to the govt of the day. And that way they might die in office or have children that marry while they're in office so they can have state weddings and funerals and all the hoop-la that "the people" love about the royalty now :)
Oh and on the matter of "Queens" - have you heard that old story about the Queen Mother who had some footmen (or something) that happened to be gay, and she phoned down to them in the kitchen and apparently said "I don't know what you old queens are doing, but this old queen wants her dinner"
LOL
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