The late Queen would have turned 97 on April 21 - will King Charles have two birthdays like she did?

Although the late Queen Elizabeth II used to spend her birthday on April 21 privately, the event was still marked publicly by gun salutes in London and Windsor. It was on her official birthday that she was joined by senior members of the royal family to watch the Trooping of the Colour parade. 

According to the royal website, “Official celebrations to mark the Sovereign’s birthday have often been held on a day other than the actual birthday, particularly when the actual birthday has not been in the summer. King Edward V11, for example, was born on 9 November, but his official birthday was marked throughout his reign in May or June when there was a greater likelihood of good weather for the Birthday Parade, also known as Trooping the Colour.”

As King Charles’s birthday falls on 14 November, he is set to have another official birthday (like his late mother) in June. However, this tradition might come to an end when Prince William becomes King as there may be no need for him to have ‘two birthdays’ as his birthday is on June 21, Prince George’s birthday also falls in the summer months, on July 22. 

Last year, in honour of Queen Elizabeth II’s 96th birthday, a new photograph of her was released by the Royal Windsor Horse Show, which showed the late monarch holding the reins of two white ponies against a backdrop of a magnolia tree. The photograph was taken on the grounds of Windsor Castle by Henry Dallal. 

On the Royal Family's Instagram, in honour of her 96th birthday, a photograph of the Queen when she was two years old was shared.

Queen Elizabeth II spent her last birthday at Sandringham, and according to the BBC, “Britain's longest-reigning monarch travelled by helicopter to her Norfolk estate, where she is being joined by family and friends. She is thought to be staying in a cottage particularly liked by her late husband, Prince Philip.”

It is not known as yet how King Charles may mark what would have been his late mother’s 97th birthday, but it is expected that he will spend the day privately and may pay tribute to her on social media.

On his first mothering Sunday without his mother in March this year, King Charles shared a sweet post to the royal family’s official Twitter and said: “To all mothers everywhere, and to those who may be missing their mums today, we are thinking of you and wishing you a special #MothersDay.”