Nick Aitken asks if there is any national anthem other than Britain’s “that praises an individual monarch rather than the bountiful nature of the homeland, its shining seas or wondrous mountains?” (Letters, 17 April). Denmark has two official anthems. One, played on royal and military occasions, has lyrics exclusively devoted to the martial exploits of King Christian IV (1577-1648). But the Danes have the good taste to reserve a different one for civilian use, extolling the beauty of their landscape and the noble qualities of Denmark’s inhabitants.
John Cartledge
Boreham Wood, Hertfordshire
• Margaret Squires (Letters, 12 April) referred to anti-Scots sentiment in the UK national anthem. Nick Aitken reminds us that the sentiments refer to a very different period in our history. But the so-called Marshall Wade verse has never been part of the official anthem.
John Thow
Basingstoke, Hampshire
• Tracey Emin’s “singular” death mask (Report, 14 April) begs the question: when is a death mask not a death mask? Answer: when it is made from a living subject, as in the case of Benjamin Robert Haydon’s life mask of John Keats.
Thomas Ryder
Nottingham
• It was unfortunate that your editorial (17 April) described France’s policy of laïcité as “anti-religious”. Like secularism, laïcité seeks a level playing field for all, regardless of religion or non-belief – which splits the population almost evenly. Our religious members recognise that the greater the regression to religious-based identity politics, the greater the need for secularism.
Keith Porteous Wood
Executive director, National Secular Society
• Double-page spread of Holy Thursday in the Vatican (14 April). Wall-to-wall men. Diversity? Inclusion? When?
Alison Leonard
Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire
• Now there are hardly any high street banks branches open, is it time to rebrand public holidays?
Barry Joyce
Wirksworth, Derbyshire
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