When it comes to National Anthems, Why does Britain bless the Queen and not the people and the country?

Question

When it comes to National Anthems, Why does Britain bless the Queen and not the people and the country?

Answer 1

Beats me. You would think that in a modern democracy, we would no longer be subjects but citizens. As for the queen representing "us", the line which says "long to reign over us" rather puts paid to that notion.



Edit: Troll Basher: I don't need a history lesson thank you, I am most learned in British History and the history of the British Constitution and all that subject encompasses. BTW I must be becoming psychic, because I knew you would stick your two pennyworth into whatever I wrote.



Edit: Troll Basher: Look, I understand, you are in love with me but I could never fall for someone who is clever enough to be a top contributor in Royalty and Celebrities.

Answer 2

I've always wondered that too and why it's all about "God save the Queen" etc. i'm not against the National Anthem by the way or the Queen :)

It was written a long while ago i think around 1700s and that's when people were like that, being loyal to the Queen and all about the higher classes of Britain, i doubt all the other classes of Britain had any say in the National Anthem i think if they did they would of wanted the Anthem being more about them-more about the country it self but then i think the Queen is meant to represents the whole country anyway. I think our National Anthem is the only one that will have to change as it's about the Queen but we will have a King next so it'll be God save the King someday.

Answer 3

Troll Basher and capitalgentleman have it right. In a monarchy, even a constitutional monarchy where the monarch acts for practical purposes as little more than a figurehead, the monarch personifies the country and is a figure all citizens can unite around. It's just not quite the same in a republic where the head of state changes every few years and is a political figure.whom you might not be able to respect in the same way if you don't agree with them. It's possibly hard to understand unless you've been brought up with living in a monarchy as I have - in the UK, any royal celebration always has patriotism and national pride mixed up in it for exactly that reason. So it is totally appropriate to sing "God save the Queen" as she personifies Britain.



MaidinKent really ought to read her British passport if she has one - the status of British subject was abolished except for a couple of tiny residual categories, which will die out before long, by the British Nationality Act 1981. My national status is described in mine as "British Citizen".

Answer 4

Well, it does bless the country by blessing Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second.



We wish her victorious -- for all of us, not just her. For example, when she was victorious in the Falklands War all the British benefited by not succumbing to Argentine aggression.



We wish that she reign over us for a long time. And in Her Majesty's case most of us mean it because the immediate alternative looks bleak.



In the Second Stanza, only sung at special occasions, we implore God to have Her Majesty defend our laws, for we must not forget, The constitutional monarchy of the United Kingdom and the 16 other realms under her sovereignty enjoy the greatest democratic traditions in the entire world.



So, by blessing Her Majesty, God also blesses the British peoples, others in her realm, and the British Commonwealth of Nations.



GOD SAVE THE QUEEN!



If you think the national anthem is dreary, please see this video. The singer is the great opera diva Jessye Norman. It is regal and magnificent.

Answer 5

Question: Why does Britain bless the Queen and not the people and the country?



Answer: Tradition, or inertia--the anthem's official status, as well as presumably its lyrics, derive from custom and usage not Royal Proclamation or an Act of Parliament.



An English audience first asked God to save the King in 1745 as a show of public support for George II after his army's defeat at Prestonpans at the hands of the Jacobite pretender, Bonnie Prince Charles. While Wales has its own national anthem, and Scotland has two of them ('Scotland the Brave" and "Flower of Scotland"), there's a movement afoot to establish the English national anthem as either Blake's "Jerusalem" or Elgin's "Land of Hope and Glory".



Since several attempts have also been made to revise the current UK national anthem's wording--both to include all parts of the UK as well as to put the emphasis upon the UK's citizens rather than its monarch--perhaps a revision similar to the second version of Canada's official second version of "God Save the Queen" would work:



Our loved Dominion bless

With peace and happiness

From shore to shore;

And let our Empire be

United, loyal, and free

True to herself and thee

For ever more.



Of course, the melody to "God Save the Queen" is also often sung to the words of the United States' patriotic hymn, "My Country Ti's of Thee":



My country ti's of Thee

Sweet land of liberty,

Of Thee I sing.

Land where my fathers' died

Land of the Pilgrim's Pride,

From every mountain side,

Let freedom ring.



BTW, we Yanks are always happy to help out the Mother Country as well as our long time allies--Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. In the meanwhile, be of good cheer. At least, "God Save the Queen" is easier to sing than "The Star Spangled Banner".

Answer 6

In a legal and technical sense, the Queen IS the country.



If you look at national coats of arms, eg England, or Canada, or Scotland, etc., you will see that they are exactly the same as HM's coat of arms for that country. In our monarchies, the Crown and the country itself are inseparable. So, blessing the Queen is blessing the country, and vice versa.



Yes, this is old fashioned thinking, but it is still the law, and therefore still works just fine.

Answer 7

Unfortunately, because too many of the English - not the other British, generally - are deferential crawlers, and our pathetic political classes don't want to give puppeteers like Rupert Murdoch (who is actually viciously anti-monarchy, but doesn't let it get in the way of boosting circulation) the chance to stir his intellectually challenged readership out of their usual stupor, which might upset the electoral process.



So we continue to hear the irrelevant old 18th century dirge, written, as has been pointed out, in very embarrassing circumstances.



It's hardly surprising that Scotland has effectively banished it in favour of Flower of Scotland.



Blake's Jerusalem would make a far better anthem for England. Land of Hope and Glory has a good tune, but the words are really ironic when we consider the reality. I Vow to Thee, My Country has the best words of all, even if it's a bit difficult to sing. On the other hand, national anthems are usually played by bands or orchestras, or performed by choirs, so, yes - what about I Vow to thee, My Country?

Answer 8

The Queen is the personification of the nation, of its people, of its goals, of its past etc. therefore when one sings God save the Queen they're effectively asking God to save the nation. This is a difficult concept for some to grasp, particularly if they're slow.



For example, when Americans say the pledge to their flag that seems strange to me, but I understand that to them that flag symbolizes their country and them.

Answer 9

God save the Queen, was written in 1745, as an ode to German George II. At the time of writing, he was sitting on a ship in London, ready to flee the Scottish Army advancing south through England, and at Leeds, to restore the Stuart monarchy!

Answer 10

It was written by a sycophant buttering up to Georgie, it is probably the worst anthem there is, personally and there is a lot of support for it for it to be changed to William Blake's "New Jerusalem"

Answer 11

Because the Queen represents all of her people, even the trolls and the country as a whole.



Edit.........MaidinKent. that line was written a very, very long time ago. Things have changed so much since then. The monarchy now, bears little resemblance to it.



Edit.........MaidinKent, if as you say that you are most learned in history, why then did I need to point out the obvious or is it that you choose to ignore it?



Edit..........MaidinKent, you chose to stick your two pennyworth in first, I just followed up on it. Never mind, have a thumbs up on me.

thanks for the thumbs down :)



Edit.......MaidinKent, if only your luck could be so good but scroll down and you will see that you do have one admirer, enjoy.

Answer 12

Yeah, and the tune´s so dreary. I´m so jealous of the French - their anthem´s great!

Answer 13

I can't stand our National Anthem. It is dreary and dull. It should be more about "the people" and not some archaic tribute to the monarch.



I love MaidinKent. She is so coool. xxx