Mark De Lisser, who co-hosts “Our Dementia Choir”, regularly presents “Songs of Praise”, is the vocal coach on “Masked Singer” and conducts the children’s choir for “Children in Need” thinks the patriotic songs need to change.

Mark, whose community choir sang “O Little Town of Bethlehem” (Queen Elizabeth II’s favourite carol) at Windsor Castle for the Queen’s Speech 2021, and who arranged and performed with The Kingdom Choir for Harry and Meghan’s wedding, says:

“It will take a little time to get our heads around singing “God Save The King” - though I’m sure we will continue to mistakenly say Queen as it’s been all most of us have ever known. There are a few slight nuances, as “queen” has a longer vowel sound than “king” and this makes a difference when you sing it.

But Rule Britannia should never be sung again. Confined to the history song books forever. It was written in a time when colonialism was the name of the game and this is the bleak history of the U.K. which we should never forget, but always seek to make it right for the current time and society. So it should never be sung again in any public setting. King Charles III should make this happen. “

A recent survey conducted by DAPS Agency and Perspectus Global showed that Brits have strong but mixed feelings about the passing of the late Queen. 70% think she was devoted to her country but only 38% think she was fair and diplomatic.

21% think this will unite us as a nation and 10% think this will be the end of the Commonwealth - 17% think this signifies the beginning of the end for the royal family

“Singing together is a great way to overcome collective feelings such as national grief. We saw this through the pandemic, our community choirs went virtual, but the human connection of singing together and sharing that common goal of engaging with the song, helped thousands of people through challenging times. Singing is a natural antidepressant, the feel good hormones released raise our spirits and this is amplified when we sing together”

Mark’s choice for a hymn for the Royal Funeral? “The Queen was a god fearing woman, so a rousing hymn such as “How Great Thou Art” would be perfect.”

Mark will be hosting a Feelgood Choir - which is open to all and free to join via Zoom - on Monday 19th. For more details please go to www.markdelisser.com or follow Mark on social media @markdelisser