Why is GB's anthem about the queen rather than the country?

Britain has no official anthem. During the Jacobite Invasion by Bonnie Prince Charlie a hymn was sung (now number 707 in Ancient and Modern) it was a prayer of petition for the safety and well-being of the monarch.

The hymn proved popular, and was played more and more often when the King appeared in public

As the monarch is a symbol of the country, the anthem is also a hymn for the safety and well being of the country.

In a legal sense, the Queen IS the country.

You can see this in the Coat of Arms. E.g., Canada's Coat of Arms is the Queen's Coat of Arms for Canada. In the UK, it's a bit different - England, Scotland, etc., have their own arms, but, they are identical to the Queen's in each place. Canada does have it's own National Anthem, but, God Save the Queen is still an official song here, called the Royal Anthem.

In times gone by, when kings met, they would often address each other by the country name, which reflects this the monarch is the country (and vice verso) idea.

It is not just Great Britain's anthem (more precisely, the United Kingdom), it also the anthem of the places where the British monarchy still reigns supreme -- Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc. The subjects in these outposts are rapturously devoted to Her Majesty the Queen and the Royal Family who reign over them.

It's called a metaphor. In British law and tradition the Queen/King and country is the living embodiment of the nation. She is the nation, unlike a President.

It is the same in the American anthem. They sing about their flag because it is a symbol of their nation. Id it just a bit of cloth in the wind? Yes! It is however also symbolic of their nation.

Besides it is not the weirdest thing in a national anthem. The Dutch pledge allegiance to the King of Spain in theirs.

" The king of Spain

I have always honoured."

"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.

O Lord, our God, arise,

Scatter her enemies,

And make them fall.

Confound their politics,

Frustrate their knavish tricks,

On Thee our hopes we fix,

God save us all.

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!"

@kpk:"England" is only part of our country. The UK consists of GB (Scotland, England and Wales) plus Northern Ireland. The Queen and the monarchy are British, not English.

@just a gyp: England doesn't rule, run or control Scotland. We united when a SCOTTISH king - James VI - inherited the English throne in 1603. And the Scots tongue is not Gaelic. The Scots language and Old English were dialects of the same same language. Scots is not a Celtic language.

In short, neither of you know what you're talking about.

it is to do with history, all the islands around britain were not allways under english rule that is why the speak gaelicfor the scots, celtic for the irish, and i don't know what the real name of welsh tounge is . but history tell us how england's army ruled by the monarchy, succeded in over coming the rest of the country, hence why it's called great britain. the words to the song god save the queen in the second verse are really atrocious how they will basically rip scotland to piecies and force the english language on all they come across. at one time india africacanadaamericai in fact most of the world was run by england when it was victorious, that is why half the world can speak english

In the UK the monarch is the embodiment of the nation, and the each country is united with the monarch as its head.

That is because England is a monarchy - i.e. it's ruled by a King or Queen.

and why does the tune for our national anthem come from an american counrtry song?

it`s so when we go to watch football we can sing `God save our team`