There’s a reason King
Charles III wasn’t singing along to the British national anthem at his
mother Queen Elizabeth’s funeral Monday morning.
As the royal family and other
guests at the ceremony inside Westminster Hall, including his wife Camilla,
Queen Consort, sang “God Save the King,” King Charles, 73, stood on
silently. This is a tradition since the song is to the monarch — it was
formally known as “God Save the Queen” throughout Queen
Elizabeth’s 70-year reign, the longest in history.
According to the royal
family’s official website, the national anthem in its present form
“dates back to the 18th century” but “the words and tune are
anonymous and may date back to the seventeenth century.”
It was first performed in
London back in September 1745 and “this practice soon spread to other
theatres, and the custom of greeting monarchs with the song as he or she
entered a place of public entertainment was thus established.”
On Sept. 9, King Charles delivered
his first address since assuming the throne, one day after the death
of Queen Elizabeth at age 96. In the pre-recorded address, he praised
his predecessor’s historic legacy of service and how it will inspire his
own reign.
