God Save the King

"God Save the King/Queen", whose title changes depending on the sex of the reigning Monarch of the United Kingdom is the national or royal anthem of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and a number of Commonwealth realms, their territories, and the British Crown dependencies. The author of the tune is unknown, and it may originate in plainchant; but an attribution to the composer John Bull (1563-1628) is sometimes made.

The first printed version appeared in 1744, during the reign of George II, and opened with this verse, which remains the best-known segment of the song, with appropriate variations:


 * 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!

Many of the Commonwealth realms have their own anthems, but use "God Save the Queen" as a secondary anthem, or as a royal anthem played specifically in the presence of the visiting British Monarch. The melody continues to be used for the national anthem of Liechtenstein, "Oben am jungen Rhein"; the royal anthem of Norway, "Kongesangen"; and the German song "Heil dir im Siegerkranz", which was the anthem of Prussia and later Germany from 1795 until 1918.

In the United States, shortly after the American Revolution, poets of the new nation attempted to create an anthem based on the same melody. One version, "God Save the States," used the same lyric structure as the original, but failed to capture the popular imagination. In 1831, Samuel F. Smith wrote a differently structured set of verses, titled "America" but commonly called "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" after its opening line, to the same melody. This version became an instant hit, and was one of several songs considered to be the unofficial national anthem, before "The Star-Spangled Banner" was officially given that status.

Literary comment
"God Save the King/Queen" is referenced in numerous Harry Turtledove works involving Great Britain, but is germane only to a few.

God Save the King in Atlantis
"God Save the King" was the national anthem of Great Britain. During the Atlantean War of Independence, several Atlantean wordsmiths wrote Atlantean patriotic verses to the same melody as Britain's anthem, but none of these picked up much popularity. General Victor Radcliff, head of the Army of the Atlantean Assembly, suspected that Atlantis would first have to stand on its own two feet and define itself as a nation, before any meaningful nationalistic verses could be written.

God Save the King in The Two Georges
"God Save the King" was the national anthem of Great Britain and her Empire overall, but several constituent nations of the Empire had their own national anthems in addition to it. E.g., the North American Union had a national song to the tune of "To Anacreon in Heaven". Both songs, and several melodies of related relevance, were played by the official band in 1995, when The Two Georges#King-Emperor Charles III made an official visit to the Union.