God Save The Queen: Where did the British national anthem come from?

MPs are expected to vote to decide whether to drop God Save The Queen for England at sporting events to replace it with the country's own anthem.

God Save The Queen, the British national anthem, dates back to the 18th century and is currently sung before all events involving English teams.

However, the Scottish and the Welsh have their own anthems. Chesterfield MP Toby Perkins believes England should follow suit with their own anthem.

God Save The King was first publicly performed in the 19th century. The words and tune are anonymous, but possibly dates back to the 17th century. A 1619 attribution to English composer John Bull is sometimes made.

In September 1745 the "Young Pretender" to the British throne, Prince Charles Edward Stuart, defeated the army of King George II at Prestonpans, a town to the east of Edinburgh.

After the news reached London, the leaders of the band at the Theatre Royal on Drury Lane played God Save The King for a patriotic performance after a play. It proved popular and was repeated every night at the Theatre Royal, with other theatres soon adopting the practice. It became customary to greet monarchs with the song as they entered a space of public entertainment.

The words used today are those sung in 1745, substituting "Queen" for "King" where appropriate. Although other verses have been added over the years, only the first verse is usually sung on official occasions.

Around 140 composers have used the tune in their compositions, including Haydn, Beethoven and Brahms.

The words of the national anthem are as follows:

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.