High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! "Rule, Britannia!" is a British patriotic song, originating from the poem "Rule, Britannia" by James Thomson and set to music by Thomas Arne in 1740. It is also used by the British Army. This popular British national air was originally included in Alfred, a masque about Alfred the Great co-written by Thomson and David Mallet and first performed at Cliveden, country home of Frederick, Prince of Wales, on 1 August 1740, to commemorate the accession of George II and the birthday of the Princess Augusta. Frederick, a German prince who arrived in England as an adult and was on very bad terms with his father, was making considerable efforts to ingratiate himself and build a following among his subjects-to-be (which came to naught, as he died before his father and never became king). A masque linking the prince with both the medieval hero-king Alfred the Great's victories over the Vikings and with the contemporary issue of building British sea power went well with his political plans and aspirations.

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