# Happy 85th, Your Majesty! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 23, 2011, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-85th-your-majesty/582924 "2011-05-23T18:10:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-85th-your-majesty/582924/1 "2011-05-23T18:10:39Z")
The 21 guns are firing in the Saskatchewan Legislature precints - the windows Chez Pipers are rattling! Happy 85th Birthday, Your Majesty! ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-85th-your-majesty/582924/2 "2011-05-23T18:13:05Z")
Might want to correct that typo in the second sentence. ETA: And Happy Birthday Liz! ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-85th-your-majesty/582924/3 "2011-05-23T19:21:24Z")
Shouldn’t that read, “Happy 85th Birthday, Your Majesty, and _thanks for the day off_!”? ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-85th-your-majesty/582924/4 "2011-05-23T19:35:23Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Happy 8th Birthday, Your Majesty! Damn, she’s really not ageing well. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-85th-your-majesty/582924/5 "2011-05-23T21:59:49Z")
Her mother lived to be 105 and smoked and drank. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-85th-your-majesty/582924/6 "2011-05-23T22:57:11Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Her mother lived to be 105 and smoked and drank. Almost. The Queen Mother was 101 when she died. ---
**Author:** ![MoodIndigo1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e8c25b/32.png) [@MoodIndigo1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoodIndigo1)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-85th-your-majesty/582924/7 "2011-05-23T23:01:05Z")
If we’re picking nits here, her birthday was April 21. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-85th-your-majesty/582924/8 "2011-05-23T23:50:58Z")
That’s her personal birthday. Her royal, official birthday, designated to give her loyal subjects a day off, as **Gorsnak** mentioned, is the third Monday in May. Across Canada, it’s also the unofficial day for opening the cottage and planting gardens. Or just having a 2-4 in honour of the 24th! ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-85th-your-majesty/582924/9 "2011-05-23T23:51:38Z")
> [@MoodIndigo1](#): > > If we’re picking nits here, her birthday was April 21. If you want to nitpick the picked nits: > [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > That’s her personal birthday. Her royal, official birthday, designated to give her loyal subjects a day off, as **Gorsnak** mentioned, is the third Monday in May. Across Canada, it’s also the unofficial day for opening the cottage and planting gardens. > > Or just having a 2-4 in honour of the 24th! ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-85th-your-majesty/582924/10 "2011-05-24T04:54:14Z")
[And the appropriate birthday song.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mb4uGHGUZMs) ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-85th-your-majesty/582924/11 "2011-05-24T06:33:30Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > That’s her personal birthday. Her royal, official birthday, designated to give her loyal subjects a day off, as **Gorsnak** mentioned, is the third Monday in May. Wasn’t yesterday the fourth Monday in May? We have to wait until the second Monday in June for our celebratory day off. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-85th-your-majesty/582924/12 "2011-05-24T13:00:39Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > Wasn’t yesterday the fourth Monday in May? Quite right - my oops. On googling, I see that Victoria Day is defined as the last Monday before the 24th of May. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-85th-your-majesty/582924/13 "2011-05-24T14:30:10Z")
Wait a minute, Canadians and Aussies get a day off HM’s birthday and we don’t in Britain? ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/happy-85th-your-majesty/582924/14 "2011-05-24T16:51:54Z")
As if her birthday weren’t reason enough to celebrate . . . she has recently surpassed the reign of George III, to become the second-longest reigning British monarch. Victoria still has her beat by a few years.