God Save the King/Queen is a patriotic hymn and the National Anthem and Royal Anthem of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is also the anthem of the British Royal Family. When the monarch is male, it is "God Save The King," when the monarch is female it is "God Save The Queen."

There is no single authorised version of the song: since its first publication, different verses have been added and taken away and, even today, different publications include various selections of verses in various orders. Indeed, the anthem has never been officially adopted by Royal Proclamation or Act of Parliament, but has become entrenched by tradition alone. In general only one or two verses are sung, but on rare occasions three.

The origin of the tune is surrounded by uncertainty, myth and speculation. In The Oxford Companion to Music, Percy Scholes devotes about four pages to this subject. He points out the similarities to an early plainsong melody, although the rhythm is very distinctly that of a galliard, and he gives examples of several such dance tunes that bear a striking resemblance to "God Save The King." He quotes a keyboard piece by Dr. John Bull (1619) which has some strong similarities to the modern tune, depending on the placing of accidentals that at that time were unwritten in certain cases and left to the discretion of the player. He also points to several pieces by Henry Purcell, one of which includes the opening notes of the modern tune, set to the words "God Save The King."

The first definitive published version of the present tune appeared in 1744 in Thesaurus Musicus as a setting of the familiar first verse. Undoubtedly, the song was popularized in the following year (with the landing of Charles Edward Stuart). It was certainly sung in London theatres in 1745 with, for example, Thomas Arne writing a setting of the tune for the Drury Lane Theatre.

Northern Ireland generally uses "God Save the Queen" at events associated with the British tradition, and the Irish national anthem "Amhrán na bhFiann (The Soldiers' Song)" at events associated with the Irish tradition. Additionally, "Londonderry Air" (Danny Boy) is a popular cross-community anthem.

There is no definitive version of the lyrics. However, the version consisting of the following three verses has the best claim to be regarded as the "standard" British version. It appears, for example, not only in the 1745 Gentleman's Magazine but also in publications such as The Book of English Songs: From the Sixteenth to the Ninteenth Century (1851) [23], National Hymns: How They are Written and how They are Not Written (1861),[24] Household Book of Poetry (1882),[25] and Hymns Ancient and Modern, revised version (1982)[26].

The same version with verse two omitted appears in publications including Scouting for boys (1908)[27] and on the UK Government's "Monarchy Today" website.[28] At the Queen's Golden Jubilee "Party at the Palace" concert, H.R.H. Prince Charles referred in his speech to the "politically incorrect second verse" of the National Anthem.

Verse 1

Verse 2

Verse 3

In the United Kingdom, the first verse is the only verse typically sung, even at official occasions, although the third verse is sung in addition on rare occasions.