Editing Marcha Real (section)

==History==
One of the oldest in the world, the Spanish national anthem was first printed in a document dated 1761 and entitled {{lang|es|Libro de la Ordenanza de los Toques de Pífanos y Tambores que se tocan nuevamente en la Ynfantª Española}} (''Book of the Ordinance of Newly Played Military [[Fife (musical instrument)|Fife]] and [[Drum]] Calls by The Spanish Infantry''), by Manuel de Espinosa. There, it is entitled {{lang|es|La Marcha Granadera}} ({{Langx|en|March of the [[Grenadier]]s}}). According to the document, Manuel de Espinosa de los Monteros is the composer.

There is a misconception that its author was [[Frederick II of Prussia]], a great lover of music. That mistaken belief arose in 1861 when it was       published as fact in the periodical {{lang|es|La España militar}} (''Military Spain''). In 1864, Col. Antonio Vallecillo published the story in the diary {{lang|es|El Espíritu Público}} (''The Public Spirit''), claiming a supposed Prussian origin for {{lang|es|Marcha Real}}. According to Vallecillo, the anthem was a gift from Frederick II to the [[Martín Álvarez de Sotomayor|Count of Colomera]], who was serving in the [[Prussian Court]] to learn the military tactics developed by Frederick II's army, under orders of King [[Charles III of Spain|Charles III]]. In 1868, this spurious history was published in {{lang|es|Los Sucesos}}, changing the beneficiary of the gift to the [[Pedro Pablo Abarca de Bolea, 10th Count of Aranda|Count of Aranda]]. The myth was picked up in different publications of 1884 and 1903 until it was included in 1908 in the {{lang|es|[[Enciclopedia universal ilustrada europeo-americana|Enciclopedia Espasa]]}}.

In 1770, Charles III declared the {{lang|es|Marcha de Granaderos}} the official Honor March, an act that formalized the tradition of playing it in public, especially on solemn occasions. It became the official Spanish anthem during [[Isabel II of Spain|Isabel II]]'s reign.

In 1870, after the [[Glorious Revolution (Spain)|1868 Revolution]], [[Juan Prim, 1st Count of Reus|General Juan Prim]] organized a national contest to create a new official state anthem, and a jury consisting of three well-known composers was chosen to designate a winning entry. Although over 400 compositions were submitted, including those written by the young composers [[Federico Chueca]], [[Ruperto Chapí]] and [[Tomás Bretón]], a new anthem was never selected. After extensive deliberations, the jury had advised that {{lang|es|Marcha de Granaderos}} was already considered the country's official anthem, and the contest was suspended.<ref name="Caminero2019">{{cite book|author=Francisco Javier Molero Caminero|title=Hasta aquí hemos llegado: Recopilación histórica de la vieja piel de toro|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FPujDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA487|date=26 June 2019|publisher=Punto Rojo Libros S.L.|isbn=978-84-17988-93-7|page=487|language=es-ES}}</ref> By [[Alfonso XIII]]'s time, the Royal Circular Order of 27 August 1908 established the musical score orchestrated by Bartolomé Pérez Casas, Superior musician of the Royal Corps of Halberdier Guards, as the official version; it is known traditionally as the ''Grenadier March'' or the ''Royal Spanish March''. During the Spanish [[Second Spanish Republic|Second Republic]] the {{lang|es|[[Himno de Riego]]}} was adopted as the anthem of the republic.<ref name="Mateos2010">{{cite book|author=María del Rosario Ruiz Mateos|title=Manual de Protocolo General. Formación para el Empleo|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TutCDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA81|date=21 October 2010|publisher=EDITORIAL CEP|isbn=978-84-681-8473-9|page=81}}</ref>

The current symphonic version of the {{lang|es|Marcha Real}} that replaced the Pérez Casas one was written by maestro [[Francisco Grau]] and is the official one after the Royal Decree of 10 October 1997, when the Kingdom of Spain bought the author rights of the {{lang|es|Marcha Real}}, then belonging to Pérez Casas's heirs. According to the Royal Decree 1560/1997, it should be in the key of B-flat major and a tempo of 76 bpm (♩=76), with a form of AABB and a duration of 52 seconds.