National anthem of Spain: history and meaning of the Royal March

The procedure prior to a soccer match is so common that we often overlook the details that it leaves us. After the players have jumped in to warm up and are ready to start the game, the anthems of each of the teams and of the competition are played, if there is an anthem like in the Champions League. These hymns have accompanied each club since time immemorial and we no longer analyze them, but in Spain we have one of the most peculiar football hymns.

The Spanish team is one of the four teams (along with Bosnia Herzegovina, San Marino and Kosovo) that takes to the pitch with a hymn that has no lyrics. In the case of Spain, it is because its original function was to accompany soldiers in military parades, which is why it is a march.

This march was called “Grenade March” until in 1770 Carlos III decided to rename it “March of Honor”. It is one of the oldest hymns in Europe, and over the years it came to be known as the “Royal March” because it used to be used especially in front of kings.

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The Royal March has accompanied Spain for more than 250 years, ringing not only with its main objective but also every time a Spanish athlete or team plays, wins or represents Spain in its discipline. It is a hymn that is so internalized in the citizens that any attempt to change it has been in vain.

The last time an attempt was made to modify it was in 2007, when the Spanish Olympic Committee published a contest. The proposals were more criticized than praised, because people are happy with the Royal March, and since then no attempt has been made to put lyrics to the characteristic anthem.

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