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The exact origins of the tune are disputed but generally date to the early 17th century. It appears in John Playford's 1728 collection of dance tunes as “The New Bath,“ while Victorian musicologist William Chappell also suggested links to a 1622 work called “Sir Edward Nowell's Delight.“ The debate is best summarised by the composer Ernest Walker in 1907 who described the melody as “three centuries evolution of an Elizabethan tune.“ The melody was introduced into Britain as a military march during the 1689–1702 reign of William III and has similarities with one written for Prince John William of Friesland (1687–1711). Henry Grattan Flood suggested as another candidate the 1672 Dutch march “Wilhelmus van Nassouwe“, which in turn was a reworking of a French version from 1568. “The British Grenadiers“ refers to grenadiers in general, not the Grenadier Guards Regiment, and all Fusilier units were entitled to use it. It allegedly commemorates
