Tēnā koe,

Since 1954, section 2(c) of the Sovereign's Birthday Observance Act 1952 has modified references to "the Sovereign's birthday" in other Acts to refer to the first Monday in June. However, this section only applied "in respect of every year of the reign of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second after the year 1953". As the reign of Elizabeth II has ended with her death, this no longer applies.

I believe this means that many Acts, such as the Official Information Act 1982, now refer to a "Sovereign's birthday" which is not the same day as the public holiday set out in section 44(1)(i) of the Holidays Act 2003, which notes that "the birthday of the reigning Sovereign" is observed via a public holiday "on the first Monday in June".

The current birthday of the reigning sovereign, Charles III, is November 14. This is just over two months away, which doesn't feel like it leaves much time for any legislative reform to take place before it.

What plans, if any, are currently in place regarding amending or replacing the Sovereign's Birthday Observance Act 1952, so that references to a "Sovereign's birthday" in other Acts will still be considered to be references to the first Monday in June?

Ngā mihi,
Mark Hanna