God Save the Queen has been the national anthem of Great Britain since the beginning of the 19th century. As a patriotic song "God Save the Queen” was first publicly performed in London in 1745 after the defeat of “Bonnie Prince Charles”, the Jacobite claimant to the throne, by King George II.
The words and the tune to “God Save the Queen” are anonymous and there are several claimants to the authorship. Though usually attributed to Arne it might really be the work of Henry Carey, a singer and composer. Probably written between 1736 and 1740 “God Save the Queen” was first heard in public in 1740 to celebrate Admiral Vernon´s capture of Portobello. The words though were first heard in 1545 when the watchword at night was “God Save the King”, and the reply was “Long to reign over us.” The Scots claim it is based on an old carol of 1611 called “Remember O thou man.” It has also been traced to Purcell in 1696.
"God Save the Queen” has become one of the world´s most recognized anthems. "God Save the Queen” has been used in many other countries. In Germany "God Save the Queen” was the unofficial national anthem from 1871 till 1918 with the text “Heil Dir im Siegerkranz”, in Switzerland it was the national anthem till 1961, the text being “Heil Dir Helvetia” and Liechtenstein has been using the melody since 1920 for its national anthem “Oben am jungen Rhein.” In the U.S.A. "God Save the Queen” is well known as “My country, ´tis of thee.” The words were written by Samuel F. Smith who had received several German hymns from his friend, which he recognized as patriotic in nature. The hymn was first sung at a Board of Trade Meeting in Chicago in 1887. "God Save the Queen” is also known as “America.” You can find our "God Save the Queen” sheet music below.