Royal fans were left devastated when they noticed a mistake in Britain’s God Save The King national anthem that many are making.

Bryony Page won gold and belted out the National Anthem with pride (Image: Getty)

Winning a medal at the Olympic Games can be a highly emotional experience. When standing at the podium and listening to their national anthem blaring in the background, some struggle to keep their composure.

And it’s not just the athletes who are getting goosebumps at the medal ceremony. Viewers at home have struggled to contain their tears while listening to God Save The King play.

Royal fans are particularly moved because the lyrics to the anthem have changed following the passing of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022. Instead of ‘God Save The Queen’, it’s now ‘God Save The King’.

On X, formerly known as Twitter, one wrote: “Awww just had the sad realisation that this will be the first Olympics I’ve ever know where team won’t be singing God Save the Queen at any gold medal ceremonies. God Save the King still doesn’t sound right.”

And another said: “Didn’t appreciate until yesterday – it’s the first time God Save the King was used at the Olympics since 1948. Our old Queen was/still is amazing.”

People are so used to singing ‘God Save The Queen’ that some British Olympians have stumbled over their words while on the podium.

During the moving medal ceremonies, some have fluffed up the words by forgetting to pay homepage to King Charles III.

After Bryony Page scooped Team GB’s first ever gold medal in trampolining, she sang along to the national anthem. But viewers at home were quick to spot she mentioned the late monarch by accident.

One fan tweeted: “Just watched GB/NI’s Bryony Page on the podium with her trampolining Gold & you can see she’s been doing this a while as she sang ‘God save our gracious Queen’ in the first line then realised immediately what she’d done and emphasised *King* in the second and following lines.”

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.”

Thankfully, Bryony did remember to sing for the King by the end of the anthem! And she’s not alone – as other members of Team GB made the same blunder 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 origins of the anthem 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 tune 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.