As here, additional verses have been added down the years, but these are rarely used. There is no authorised version of the National Anthem as the words are a matter of tradition. This practice soon spread to other theatres and continued well into the 20th century even being played at the end of an evening in cinemas and at other public events such as Balls and Dinners. It was a tremendous success and was repeated nightly. In a fit of patriotic fervour after news of Prestonpans had reached London, the leader of the band at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, arranged ‘God Save The King’ for performance after a play. In September 1745 the ‘Young Pretender’ to the British Throne, Prince Charles Edward Stuart, defeated the army of King George II in Scotland at Prestonpans, near Edinburgh. It is thought the tune was originally a dance, the rhythm is very distinctly that of a galliard. The British National Anthem, God Save The King in its current form dates to the eighteenth century, however the words and tune may date back to the seventeenth century. For a more Christian conclusion verse 3 has been added in some hymn books which is by William E Hickson (1817 – 1877) and taken from the hymn God Bless Our Native Land an American hymn sung to the same tune. Original lyricist of verses 1 and 2 is unknown and generally these are the only two verses used.Click Here to Download God Save Our Gracious King : Lyrics Traditionally played on Remembrance Day in the UK. National Anthem Of USA was written by Francis Scott Key and officially adopted by Congress as the first official national anthem of the United States in 1931.
