"I see that Mr Bernard Shaw, among others, wants to rewrite the second verse of the National Anthem. Mr Shaw's retains references to God and the King, but is vaguely internationalist in sentiment. This seems to me ridiculous. Not to have a national anthem would be logical. But if you do have one, its function must necessarily be to point out that we are Good and our enemies are Bad. Besides, Mr Shaw wants to cut out the only worth-while lines the anthem contains. All the brass instruments and big drums in the world cannot turn "God Save the King" into a good tune, but on the very rare occasions when it is sung in full it does spring to life in the two lines:

Counfound their politics,
Frustrate their knavish tricks!

And, in fact, I had always imagined that the second verse is habitually left out because of a vague suspicion on the part of the Tories that these lines refer to themselves."

-- George Orwell (December 1943)

I myself also admire the lines "May she defend our laws,..." That is to say, "Please, God, keep her from harm, and also, please, God, make her mind her business." How very constitutional!