The booing of the national anthem shows the vulnerability of King Charles’s reign | Zoe Williams

He lacks the late Queen's aura of inevitability, nobility and self-abnegation - and so the jeering at sports events is only getting louder

At the Scotland versus England friendly last week, God Save the King was booed by half the crowd - the Scottish half. In a way, this is surprising, because it is, of course, the national anthem of the UK, so they were technically booing their own song. Yet it is also entirely unsurprising - so much so, in fact, that commentators dredging up outrage at the boos had to find secondary sources, such as: Why does the Scottish first minister appear to be smirking during the booing?"

Even before the passing of the Queen, it was far from unheard of for Scotland supporters to boo the national anthem. It happened right after the independence referendum, the message at that time being: Like all referendums on constitutional matters, this ballot has opened up cracks in society - irreconcilable differences in its branching futures, if you like - that will not quietly go away." Scottish fans once booed Liechtenstein's national anthem, Oben am Jungen Rhein. Really easy mistake to make, as the tunes are identical - except they must have known they were playing Liechtenstein, right? So perhaps the message was less complicated; not so much: The yoke of this union is a heavy one to bear and we decline to celebrate it in song," more: We do not like this tune. It is not even a real tune. How on earth two nations (well, five) chose it is beyond us."