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Queen Elizabeth II

The day The Queen sang the American national anthem in solidarity with the victims of 9/11

When the UK national anthem is played, The Queen stands as the public sings to her. She doesn’t sing a national anthem; she is The Queen. However, one occasion had such an impact, that Her Majesty broke with her tradition and sang the American national anthem, “The Star Spangled Banner.”

The occasion was the memorial service held at St Paul’s Cathedral for the victims of the 9/11 attacks in New York City, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania. As she does not sing anthems, when “The Star Spangled Banner” was played in the cathedral, she joined in and was later seen wiping a tear from her eye.

The Queen attended the memorial service alongside other members of the Royal Family and government officials, including Prime Minister Tony Blair. The Duke of Edinburgh read from the New Testament during the service, as well.

She also authorised the national anthem to be played on 12 September 2001 during the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace out of respect for those who lost their lives and in solidarity with the United States.

September 11, 2001, is a day no American will forget, nor will they forget The Queen singing the national anthem and mourning with them. 2,977 people were killed, and over 25,000 were injured when Islamic radicals from terrorist group Al-Qaeda hijacked four aeroplanes. Two planes crashed into the World Trade Center buildings in New York, one into the Pentagon in D.C., and the other into a field in Pennsylvania after the heroic passengers and crew onboard overpowered the hijackers and crashed it, saving countless lives.

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.