2. c. 14), declaring 29 May a public holiday "for keeping of a perpetual Anniversary, for a Day of Thanksgiving to God, for the great Blessing and Mercy he hath been graciously pleased to vouchsafe to the People of these Kingdoms, after their manifold and grievous Sufferings, in the Restoration of his Majesty..."[3] Charles II of England, returning from exile, entered London on 29 May 1660, his 30th birthday.

The public holiday was abolished under the Anniversary Days Observance Act 1859, but the date retains some significance in local and institutional customs.

[9] Anyone who failed to wear a sprig of oak risked being pelted with bird's eggs or thrashed with nettles.

The day has been marked in the past by re-enactment activities at Moseley Old Hall, West Midlands, one of the houses where Charles II hid in 1651.

[14] The vicar leads a procession through the village, he is followed by the Tower Captain holding the Oak bough.

In 2021, Oak Apple Day was celebrated at Eton Wick within sight of Charles II's former home of Windsor Castle.