Win a medal in Olympic Games can be a highly emotional experience. Standing at the podium and hearing your national anthem playing in the background, some struggle to maintain their composure.
And it’s not just the athletes who are getting goosebumps at the medal ceremony. Viewers at home have been struggling to hold back tears as they listen to God Save The King to play.
Royal fans are particularly upset that the lyrics to the anthem changed following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022. Instead of ‘God Save The Queen‘, now it’s ‘God Save the King’.
On X, formerly known as Twitter, someone wrote: “Awww, just had the sad realization that this will be the first Olympics I know of where the team will not sing God Save the Queen at any gold medal ceremony. God Save the King still doesn’t sound right.”
And another said: “I didn’t realise until yesterday – this is the first time God Save the King has been used at the Olympics since 1948. Our former Queen was/still is amazing.”
People are so used to singing “God Save The Queen” that some British Olympic athletes stumbled over the words while on the podium.
During the emotional medal ceremony, some people got their words wrong and forgot to pay homage to King Charles III.
After Bryony Page wins Team GB’s first ever gold medal in trampolineshe sang along to the national anthem. But viewers at home were quick to spot that she mentioned the late monarch by accident.
One fan tweeted: “Just watched Bryony Page from GB/NI on the podium with her Gold trampoline and you can see she’s been doing this for a while as she sang ‘God save our gracious Queen’ in the first verse and then immediately realised what she had done and emphasised *King* in the second and subsequent verses.”
Another said: “Bryony Page forgetting and singing God Save The Queen.” And a third laughed: “Bryony Page singing “God Save the Queen” with such confidence before correcting herself.”
Luckily, Bryony remembered to sing to the King at the end of the anthem! And she’s not alone – as other Team GB members have made the same mistake at their own ceremonies.
God Save The King is the national or royal anthem of the United Kingdom and has also been adopted by other Commonwealth realms. The anthem’s origins date back to the 18th century, although its exact authorship remains uncertain.
The melody is often attributed to the English composer Thomas Arne, who arranged it in 1745. However, earlier versions of the melody and lyrics existed, and it is possible that the melody itself predates Arne’s arrangement.
The lyrics are believed to have been written in 1745 to show support for King George II during the Jacobite Rising, a time of political strife and rebellion in Britain. The anthem quickly gained popularity and became associated with loyalty to the crown.