New lyrics could preserve ‘that patriotic feeling’ at Proms, says opera star

Camilla Kerslake feels the lyrics ‘need to be representative of the nation as it is now’ (Lia Toby/PA)

Opera singer Camilla Kerslake has suggested that lyrics to songs such as Rule, Britannia! and Land Of Hope And Glory should be rewritten “incredibly sensitively” so they do not lose “that patriotic feeling”.

New, orchestral versions of the songs will be performed at the Last Night Of The Proms this year, amid heated debate over their perceived links with colonialism and slavery.