United Kingdom National Anthem
God Save the King
1745
1745
Unknown (traditionally attributed to Henry Carey)
Unknown
👑 Monarchy ✝ God / Faith ❤ Love of homeland 🌅 Hope |
Key Facts
- 1. The tune is still used for Liechtenstein's national anthem and Norway's royal anthem; it once served Prussia and the German Emperor ('Heil dir im Siegerkranz'), the Russian Empire (1816-1833) and Switzerland (until 1961), and in the United States it carries the patriotic song 'My Country, 'Tis of Thee'
- 2. Around 1745 an extra verse praying that Field Marshal Wade would 'Rebellious Scots to crush' was briefly in use; it was soon abandoned and was not part of the song when it became accepted as the national anthem in the 1780s and 1790s
- 3. As is customary when a king succeeds a queen, the words changed from 'Queen' to 'King' after Elizabeth II's death in 2022, for the first time in over 70 years
United Kingdom National Anthem Lyrics
God save our gracious King,
Long live our noble King,
God save the King:
Send him victorious,
Happy and glorious,
Long to reign over us:
God save the King.
O Lord our God arise,
Scatter his enemies,
And make them fall:
Confound their politics,
Frustrate their knavish tricks,
On Thee our hopes we fix:
God save us all.
Thy choicest gifts in store,
On him be pleased to pour;
Long may he reign:
May he defend our laws,
And ever give us cause
With heart and voice to sing,
God save the King!
Not in this land alone,
But be God's mercies known
From shore to shore:
Lord make the nations see
That men should brothers be,
And form one family
The wide world o'er
Translations are non-official and intended to convey meaning, not replace originals
Analysis
EditorialNobody knows who wrote it. The authorship of both the words and the melody is disputed: a keyboard piece by John Bull from 1619 resembles the tune, and the claim for Henry Carey, who died in 1743, was first made by his son in 1795. It was never formally adopted by an act of Parliament; it simply became the anthem through long custom and tradition. The melody has been borrowed by many countries for their own national or royal anthems at various points in history.
Learn More
Sources & References
- pt.wikipedia.org: God_Save_the_King . pt.wikipedia.org
- National Anthem . The Royal Household (royal.uk)
Source & Review
- Source status
- Official source verified
- Translation
- AI-assisted working translation
- Rights status
- Third-party rights may apply
- Last reviewed
- Editorial review
- AI-assisted editorial review
- Editorial owner
- Nationalia
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- rights@nationalia.org