The U.S. Wishes the Queen Happy Birthday — on the Wrong Day
Queen Elizabeth II is one of the most recognizable figures in the world, and has been since she was a young woman. So it would seem pretty easy to Google her birthday, right? Well, it turns out that the U.S. State Department, which holds diplomatic court with leaders of nations big and small, flubbed one with the Queen when officials bestowed her with birthday greetings a week early. Buckingham Palace, of course, took it gracefully in stride. The truth is, Her Royal Highness gets two birthdays: her real one, on April 21 (she turned 84 this year), and then the official one, celebrated this year on June 12. Next year, however, it should be easier for the State Department to keep the dates straight: Queen Elizabeth joined Facebook in November.