"God Save the King," now a symbol of the British establishment, began as a Jacobite anthem supporting the Stuart dynasty. It was co-opted by the ruling Hanoverians during the 1745 uprising, effectively making the anthem a "turncoat."
During the Napoleonic Wars, Britain responded to France's secular "Marseillaise" by terming "God Save the King" a national "anthem." This deliberately Christianized the song, positioning it as an ideological counterpoint to what they saw as France's militant atheism.
Despite its historical subject matter—the 1314 Battle of Bannockburn—Scotland's unofficial national anthem, "Flower of Scotland," is a relatively modern creation. It was composed in 1966 by the folk duo The Corries and was adopted for sporting events decades later.
The line "may he defend our laws" in "God Save the King" is a subtle endorsement of the 1688 Glorious Revolution. It praises a monarch who upholds laws made by Parliament, reflecting a constitutional monarchy rather than a divine right to rule.
The concept of a national anthem as an "audible national symbol" was pioneered by Britain. After the Napoleonic Wars, the tune of "God Save the King" was so influential that around 20 other countries, from Prussia to Hawaii, adopted its melody for their own anthems.
"God Save the King" first gained widespread popularity as a pro-Hanoverian anthem in the autumn of 1745. It was performed nightly in London theaters to rally support for King George II against the invading army of Bonnie Prince Charlie.
The home nations (England, Scotland, etc.) have separate teams in the World Cup not due to a special political arrangement, but because their football associations were founded decades before FIFA. They were the original international teams, and this historical status was grandfathered in.
"God Save the King" lacks a specific author or creation event, much like Britain's unwritten constitution. This contrasts sharply with revolutionary anthems like the "Marseillaise," mirroring the British preference for organic, evolved traditions over explicitly designed systems.