LABOUR delegates opened their annual conference in Liverpool with a rendition of God Save The King.
It is the first time the national anthem has been sung at the party conference.
There was speculation some members would heckle or protest. However, the song and a minute's silence in memory of the Queen passed without incident.
Earlier in the day, former leader Jeremy Corbyn told the BBC it was “very, very odd” for a Labour conference to sing God Save the King. He described it as “excessively nationalist.”
He said: “They’ve never done it before, there’s never been any demand to do it … We don’t as a country routinely go around singing the national anthem at every single event we go to.
“We don’t sing in schools, we don’t have the raising of the flag as they do in the USA and other places. We are not that sort of, what I would call, excessively nationalist.”
Activists from Labour Left Internationalists handed out leaflets that described it as “remarkable and almost comic.”
Opening the conference, Sir Keir Starmer told members that it “still feels impossible to imagine a Britain without” the Queen.
He said: “The late Queen Elizabeth II was this great country’s greatest monarch.
“She created a special, personal relationship with all of us. A relationship based on service and devotion to our country.
“Even now, after the mourning period has passed, it still feels impossible to imagine a Britain without her.”
He added: “Because our Queen’s devotion to Britain was underpinned by one crucial understanding – she knew that the country she came to symbolise is bigger than any one individual or institution.”
Sir Keir went on: “Conference, as we enter a new era, let’s commit to honouring the late Queen’s memory. Let’s turn up our collar and face the storm, keep alive the spirit of public service she embodied and let it drive us towards a better future.
“For 70 years, Queen Elizabeth II stood as head of our country. But, in spirit, she stood amongst us.”
A source close to Sir Keir told the BBC the singing of the national anthem was proof members had moved on since Mr Corbyn's leadership.
"If you want proof the Labour Party has changed that was it."
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