God Save the King

God Save the King

Publication of an early version in The Gentleman's Magazine, October 1745. The title, on the contents page, is given as "God save our lord the king: A new song set for two voices".
National or royal anthem of  Antigua and Barbuda (royal)  Australia (royal)     Norfolk Island (national and royal)  The Bahamas (royal)  Belize (royal)  Canada (royal)  Grenada (royal)  Jamaica (royal)  New Zealand (national and royal)     Cook Islands (royal)     Niue (royal)     Tokelau (national and royal)  Papua New Guinea (royal)  Saint Kitts and Nevis (royal)  Saint Lucia (royal)  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (royal)  Solomon Islands (royal)  Tuvalu (royal)  United Kingdom (national and royal)     Crown dependencies     British Overseas Territories (national and royal)
Also known as	"God Save the Queen" (when the monarch is female)
Music	unknown
Adopted	September 1745
Audio sample
"God Save the King" file help

"God Save the King" has been the national anthem of the United Kingdom since 1745. It is also the royal anthem of the Commonwealth realms, played alongside their official national anthems.^[1][2] Its composer remains unknown to this date.

When the ruling monarch is a queen instead of a king, the title of the anthem then becomes "God Save the Queen".

The tune for "God Save the King" was used in many countries as a national anthem. Apart from the German state, many of which were linked to Great Britain by marriage, Liechtenstein and Switzerland used the tune. Switzerland changed to a different tune in the 1960s. Liechtenstein still uses the tune.

The tune is also used in America. The famous American song "My Country Tis of Thee" was written in 1831 with the same tune. In the 1930s when the United States was choosing an official anthem the song was a popular choice. "The Star-Spangled Banner" was chosen instead of any other.

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

To sing with heart and voice

God save the King.^[3]

God save great George our king

God save our noble king,

God save the king!

Send him victorious

Happy and glorious

Long to reign over us

God save the king!^[4]

O Deus optime

Salvum nunc facito

Regem nostrum

Sic laeta victoria

Comes et gloria

Salvum iam facito

Tu dominum.^[5]

Me tohu e t'Atua

To matou Kuini pai:

Kia ora ia

Meinga kia maia ia,

Kia hari nui, kia koa,

Kia kuini tonu ia,

Tau tini noa.^[6]

Some people think that the origin of the song comes from the 1500s. The theory is that English composer, John Bull, created the tune of the song in the late 1500s. This idea is one of the more well supported origins of the tune.

Another idea is that the song was created in the 1620s for King James VI & I, but never played before being rediscovered in 1745 and changing 'God save great James our King' for 'God save great George our King'

A popular idea in France is that the song is French, being written by Italian Composer, Jean Baptiste Lully. The theory is that Lully wrote the song, tune and words, for King Louis XIV of France, "The Sun King" in the 1680s, before George Fredrich Handel brought it to England. This idea is not fully evidenced, as much of the proof was shown to be fakes made in the 1800s.

The most supported and proven answer is that the song was created by someone unknown in 1745 in England, and became famous throughout Great Britain.