A Royal Proclamation issued on 5 February 1957 established the Canadian monarch's official birthday as the last Monday before 25 May. The Sovereign's birthday had been observed in Canada since 1845, when the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada passed a statute to authorize the recognition of Queen Victoria's birthday, 24 May, as a public holiday. Over the ensuing decades after Queen Victoria died in 1901 (and 24 May became Victoria Day, until 1952, when the Monday before 25 May became known by law as "Victoria Day"), the official date in Canada of the reigning monarch's birthday changed through various Royal Proclamations: for Edward VII it continued by yearly proclamation to be observed on 24 May, but was 3 June for George V and 23 June for Edward VIII (their actual birthdays).