It’s one of the most famous songs in the world. And on Saturday in London’s Westminster Abbey, it will be at the heart of the ceremony when King Charles III is formally crowned as head of state of the United Kingdom, Canada and 13 other countries. The occasion will be celebrated by the singing of God Save the King.
No one knows when the song was written or even when the words and lyrics were first put together. The earliest known publication of the work was in 1744, according to the Oxford Companion to Music, which notes that the song was the
