English National Anthem
There are those who argue that the English should sing an English, not British, anthem. They believe God Save the Queen should continue to be the British anthem, to be sung as a celebration of Britishness or the Monarch, by the individual nations of Britain, or by the English, Scots, Welsh and Irish when they are gathered together as Brits. Scottish and English teams line up together with the Scots singing a Scottish anthem and the English singing a British anthem.
It is felt by some that it may be politically convenient for the UK Government to encourage Scottishness and Welshness whilst keeping Britishness to the fore in England. Scots and Welsh that still consider themselves British may be obliged to boo their own anthem for fear of being regarded as traitors by an increasingly nationalistic tendency.
I'm surprised English sports teams don't sing Land Of Hope And Glory instead.
Princess Anne
I held the following Referendum vote on the subject:
Q. Does England require a new anthem?
The results of the vote were as follows:
YES 82%
NO 18%
DO NOT KNOW 0%
These result are archived by the British Library
There is also a No10 E-Petition submitted by Gareth Young:
We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to initiate a Parliamentary debate on the adoption of a national anthem for England that is distinct from the British national anthem.To sign the E-Petition please click: HERE
1 comment:
Very interesting post. I'm glad you mention the fact that the vast majority of people in Scotland and Wales feel British too. This is something very important which often gets overlooked by nationalists - whether they be Scottish, Welsh or English. Even though I am Welsh (by birth) I nevertheless feel a great affinity and affection for England. It is very difficult to put into words. You just feel loyal to England and to Her Queen. I guess this is what it means to be British too. Therefore the people of England should take pride in this fact. The fact that there are many people in Scotland and Wales who feel this way about England and who forever shall be loyal to it. For come the crunch I would fight and die to protect an Englishman and his family, I only hope that he would do the same for me.
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