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Why was ”God Save The Queen” played at Donald Trump’s inauguration?

If you were watching President Donald Trump’s inauguration as the 45th President of the United States yesterday and are British, you might have been confused as to why “God Save The Queen” was being played. If you are American like me, you would think nothing of it. You would recognise it as the song “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” that you sang in many school events growing up.

In all fairness, I should admit, as a child like many other Americans I’m sure, I was confused as to why “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” was played at British events or when an Olympian from Britain won gold at the Olympics. I later found out it was “God Save The Queen” instead.

“God Save The Queen” was not played during the inauguration, but instead, “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” which has the same tune as the United Kingdom’s anthem. Our national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner” is also to the tune of another British song – “The Anacreontic Song”.

“My Country, ‘Tis of Thee”, which was originally titled “America”, was written by Samuel Francis Smith in 1831 and served as a de facto national anthem for the United States until “The Star-Spangled Banner” was adopted in 1931. It was first performed on 4 July 1831 at an Independence Day event for children in Boston, Massachusetts.

While the person who wrote the lyrics to “God Save The Queen” is unknown, Thomas Arne composed the melody for the song in 1745. The song has not been officially adopted as the national anthem through a Royal Proclamation or Act of Parliament. Its status as the national anthem comes from its frequent use and custom over the years.

Symphony No. 3 by Muzio Clementi contains the melody of “God Save The Queen” (or “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” if you are American) as a tribute to the United Kingdom, which was Clementi’s adopted country. It was this melody in Symphony No. 3 that caught Samuel Francis Smith’s ear. So, he wrote “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee” to the tune in 30 minutes.

About author

Brittani is from Tennessee, USA. She is a political scientist and historian after graduating with a degree in the topics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in December 2014. She also holds a master's degree from Northeastern University. She enjoys reading and researching all things regarding the royals of the world. She's been researching, reading, and writing on royalty for over a decade. She became Europe Editor in October 2016, and then Deputy Editor in January 2019, and has been featured on several podcasts, radio shows, news broadcasts and websites including Global News Canada, ABC News Australia, WION India and BBC World News.

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