Forum Discussion
King's birthday...
But no, Outlook's spent the last couple years, including this one, displaying Queen's birthday weekend.
When Microsoft? When?
And whilst we're on renaming... what about changing the name of your OS from Windows 11 to Please Wait. It's way more accurate!
2 Replies
Which version of Outlook are you using and which account type are you using?
The holiday definitions for New Zealand contains definitions for King's Day;
King's Birthday,2024/6/3 King's Birthday,2025/6/2 King's Birthday,2026/6/1If you have imported them in Classic Outlook when it was still the Queen's Birthday, you will need to update them manually. For instructions see; Holiday updates for the Outlook Calendar - Robert 365
If you are using an Outlook.com or Exchange Online account, you can subscribe to the holiday calendar of New Zealand, so it gets updated automatically. See; Add Holidays to your Microsoft 365 Exchange Online or Outlook.com mailbox - Robert 365
Hi
I'm using a vanilla Windows 11 testbed (VM), with latest Outlook (but "classic" does the same).
I asked AI (CoPilot) and got this response :) ...
(PS: I will try the subscription method)**Short answer:**
You can’t fix it yourself — Microsoft’s *New Zealand Holiday Calendar* is wrong, and Microsoft has already acknowledged the bug. The only reliable workaround is to **remove the old holiday calendar and re‑add the updated one**, or switch to the **Outlook-on-the-web NZ Holidays subscription**, which updates automatically.
Below is the clean, actionable path for you (Christchurch, NZ) with citations.
---
## ✅ What’s actually happening
Microsoft’s NZ holiday feed continued to label the June public holiday as **“Queen’s Birthday”** even after NZ officially changed it to **King’s Birthday**.
Microsoft confirmed this is a **known issue** and that the incorrect label appears in the NZ Public Holiday Calendar.
They have said the fix will come via future updates — but they did **not** give a timeline.
---
## ✅ How to fix it now (your only reliable options)
### **Option 1 — Remove the old holiday set and re‑add NZ holidays (Classic Outlook)**
This forces Outlook to pull the newest holiday definitions available.
- **Open Outlook (classic)**
- Go to **View → Change View → List**
- In the ribbon, choose **Arrangement → Categories**
- Scroll to the **Holidays** category
- Select all NZ holidays → **Delete**
- Now re‑add them:
- **File → Options → Calendar → Add Holidays**
- Tick **New Zealand** → **OK**
This is the official Microsoft method for refreshing outdated holiday data.
---
### **Option 2 — Use Outlook on the Web’s NZ Holiday subscription (recommended)**
Outlook on the web uses a *subscription* calendar that **auto‑updates** when Microsoft fixes holiday names.
- Go to **[https://outlook.office.com/calendar](https://outlook.office.com/calendar)**
- In the left pane, select **Add Calendar**
- Choose **Holidays**
- Select **New Zealand**
- Remove the old “Holidays in New Zealand” calendar if it exists
Microsoft explicitly states that the web‑based holiday subscription receives automatic updates when holidays change.
---
### **Option 3 — Wait for Microsoft’s fix**
Microsoft has acknowledged the issue and said it will be escalated to the product team.
Until they update the NZ holiday feed, the incorrect label may persist.
---
## 🧭 Which option should *you* use?
Given your setup (Microsoft 365, Christchurch, and you prefer clean, system‑level fixes):
| Option | Reliability | Effort | Notes |
|-------|-------------|--------|-------|
| **Outlook on the Web holiday subscription** | ★★★★★ | Low | Auto‑updates; best long‑term fix |
| **Delete + re‑add holidays in Classic Outlook** | ★★★★☆ | Medium | Works now but may not auto‑correct future changes |
| **Wait for Microsoft** | ★★☆☆☆ | None | Could take months |
**Recommendation:**
Switch to the **web subscription calendar** and delete the old imported one.
---
## Want me to walk you through the exact steps for *your* version of Outlook (new Outlook vs classic vs web)?
