Outstanding anthem

SIR – Tony Fenlon (Letters, July 2) is right to note that the British national anthem is short, probably the shortest of any in the world.

As a Deputy Lieutenant, I regularly hear various renditions of the anthem and often think how well it reflects the nature of the Queen but also that of her people. To the point, modest, hopeful, not too confident, more of a prayer than a boast.

Compare this to most anthems droning on, extolling people, places and obscure events, often for a considerable time, to tunes that sound like the least bad in a batch of competition entries. Thank the Lord that ours is outstanding, like the country it represents.