Since the Queen's Platinum Jubilee is nearly upon us, many across the country may be feeling a bit more patriotic than usual.
A common way of expressing your love for your country is diligently singing the national anthem. However, not everyone actually knows all the words to the song God Save The Queen.
In 2014, a YouGov survey revealed that nearly half of young people in Britain don't even know the first verse of the anthem while a further 28 per cent have never even sung it in their lives. Meanwhile, the same survey revealed 89 per cent of over-60s could recite the first verse off by heart with only one per cent of over-60s admitting they don't know it.
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What many people may not know, however, is that there is actually no standardised version of the national anthem and the words sang along to it are merely a matter of tradition. The words used in today's version date all the way back to 1745 with the term 'Queen' or 'King' behind swapped where appropriate.
Meanwhile, the actual national anthem dates back even further to 1619 and is heralded as one of the oldest national anthems to survive to this date. Historians even suggest that it inspired many other nations that came into contact with Europe to adopt their own national anthem.
During most official occasions, only the first verse is sung. The words for the British national anthem are:
God save our gracious Queen!
Long live our noble Queen!
God save the Queen!
Send her victorious,
Happy and glorious,
Long to reign over us,
God save the Queen.
Thy choicest gifts in store
On her be pleased to pour,
Long may she reign.
May she defend our laws,
And ever give us cause,
To sing with heart and voice,
God save the Queen.
Now that you know the words, you won't feel like the odd one out during the Queen's Jubilee where you can expect to hear the national anthem a lot.
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