New Zealand celebrates King Charles' birthday with a public holiday Monday - even though his birthday isn't until November.
Here's what you need to know about what will be open and closed, your employment rights if you are working and why we celebrate the monarch every June, regardless of when their birthday is.
So is the King giving me a day off work?
Pretty much.
It is a public holiday, but some people may still have to work depending on their employer.
Employees must get at least time-and-a-half their normal pay and get a paid day in lieu if a public holiday falls on a normal working day for them.
However, if you're a contractor or working for yourself, you don't get those benefits, although you could still possibly take the day off depending on your circumstances. Read more about public holiday rules for employers here at Employment New Zealand.
Trading restrictions don't apply on King's Birthday as they do for Easter holidays, the morning of Anzac Day or Christmas.
Shops, restaurants and cafes can be open as usual but it pays to check their specific opening hours beforehand as many may be closed.
Am I going to have to pay a surcharge when I get my long black in honour of King Charles?
Well, you might. Surcharges are voluntary for businesses but many do add them on public holidays as they have to pay higher costs for employee wages.
Typically, surcharges run around 15%.
Businesses are required to be transparent about what surcharge they are imposing whether it's shown on a clearly visible sign, verbally or otherwise. They can't sneak it on the bill after the fact, in other words.
You can file a complaint with the Commerce Commission if you feel misled by a charge or that it was excessive.
Who will get a King's Birthday Honour this year? Will it be you?
Dozens of New Zealanders will be given royal honours which will be announced on Monday for excellence in their fields.
It's the second time each year honours are given out - they're also announced every New Year's Eve.
Who decides who gets an honour? Can I nominate my mate Nigel?
Give it a go! Anyone can nominate anyone living who they think deserves a Royal Honour by using this form.
(However, don't try to nominate yourself, which is not allowed and also kind of weird. Maybe ask your mate Nigel.)
The Honours Unit at the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet processes between 800 to 1000 nominations a year, Blair Teesdale-Moore, senior communications advisor with the department, told RNZ last year.
"The unit prepares a draft citation for each one based on the information in the nomination and letters of support," she said.
The Cabinet Appointments and Honours Committee then considers every nomination individually in a series of confidential meetings over several weeks.
"As chair of the APH committee and the King's primary advisor on honours matters, the Prime Minister advises the King on the final honours lists," Teesdale-Moore said.
"By long-standing constitutional convention the King of New Zealand acts on the advice of the Prime Minister - this includes the formal approval of New Zealand Royal honours."
Once the draft list is set, it is then given informal approval by the Governor-General, run by potential recipients first - "a small number decline," Teesdale-Moore said - and then it's off to the King, who is the head of our honours system.
So when is the King's birthday, anyway?
King Charles III turns 78 on November 14.
Wait a moment, it's nearly June. That makes no sense.
It's the weather's fault, really.
The tradition of celebrating the monarch's birthday in the northern summer dates back hundreds of years, and is tied in with the Trooping the Colour ceremonial event held every June in London.
The ceremony of Trooping the Colour is believed to have been first performed during the reign of King Charles II from 1660 to 1685.
In 1748, during the reign of King George II, the sovereign's birthday first became a celebrated holiday. Trooping the Colour became tied in to celebrate the monarch, no matter when their actual birthday was.
Ever since then, the king or queen has basically had two birthdays - the real one, and the big old fancy military parade one. Perhaps that's where the phrase "living like a king" comes from.
Trooping the Colour will be held in the UK on June 13 this year.
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