With the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the accession of Charles III, the British anthem, “God save the Queen”, will become “God save the King”. A look back at the new lyrics and the history of this song of unclear origin.

A change we will have to get used to. After 70 years of “God save the Queen”, the British anthem officially becomes “God save the King”. Four words already uttered on Thursday evening during Prime Minister Liz Truss's speech in honour of Elizabeth II.

The words of the British anthem will therefore change and return to the form they had between 22 January 1901 and 6 February 1952, respectively, the date of Queen Victoria's death and the date of Elizabeth II's accession to the throne, that is, during the reigns of Edward VII (1901-1910), George V (1910-1936), Edward VIII (1936) and George VI (1936-1952). Here is a recording of it.

Traditionally, only verses one and three are sung. And during sports competitions, only the first verse.

This version could therefore remain the British anthem for a long time to come. After Charles III, Prince William and his son George are in first and second place in the order of succession, ahead of Princess Charlotte. This anthem will also accompany the new king during his next coronation, probably in 2023.

Fuzzy origins

In traditional British tradition, there is no official national anthem, but “God Save the King” has been established and is used as an anthem by the government and the royal family, as well as in many Commonwealth countries.

Its origin is unclear. We find a resemblance in the music to a melody by Jean-Baptiste Lully dating back to the 17th century. The origin of the lyrics, however, is completely unknown. An early version of the current melody appeared in 1744 and was played in 1745. This melody was also used in many countries (the United States, Switzerland, Russia, etc.) as a hymn during the 19th century. In the end, it only managed to establish itself in the United Kingdom.