Rangers have long embraced their loyalist roots by keeping a photo of the ruling monarch in the home dressing room at Ibrox. Given the current ruler of the realm is King Charles III, it’s his image that resides at the Glasgow ground. He’s the second sovereign to receive the honour at the 52,000-seat ground after the tradition was adopted 40 years ago when his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, sat on the throne.
Souness introduced the tradition in 1986
Rangers icon Graeme Souness introduced the tradition after taking charge of the team as player-coach in 1986. Still just 33 at the time, the decision demonstrated his fierce loyalty to the crown, which he underlined in an interview with The Sunday Times.
Liverpool legend Souness, 73, took over from Jock Wallace at the Rangers helm when the club was in a state of disarray and struggling to challenge Celtic’s dominance in the Scottish Premiership. And installing a picture of Britain’s royal head was among the many changes he made in a bid to get Glasgow’s blue half back on top.
Souness on his royalist stance
“I’m a royalist and I will continue to be,” he said. “It was just incredibly exciting, that period. It changed my life dramatically. It was like someone punched me on the nose on day one.
“Such an enormous learning curve. I mean, I was 33 years old and some of the stuff we did was like, ‘Put your seatbelts on’. And by and large we got away with it.”
Club’s British identity on display
Rangers have historically had deep ties to protestantism and unionism, a movement that favours strong connections among Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland. And although there are those who would see the club distance itself from certain political affiliations, Souness had no such hang-ups about celebrating that side of their identity.
The Bill Struth Main Stand at Ibrox also regularly flies the Union Jack alongside the Scottish Saltire as proof of the club’s British fealty. As if that wasn’t enough, the fans also frequently sing the British national anthem, now ‘God Save the King’, at major matchups.
This included one rendition of the anthem prior to a 2022 Champions League match against Napoli in tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II. UEFA upholds a strict ban against anthems being sung pre-match but did not punish Rangers for this particular shunning of the rules.
Annual Loving Cup ceremony
Rangers’ board of directors and guests also stage an annual tribute at the first home match of every calendar year, known as the Loving Cup ceremony, where they toast the health of the ruling monarch. Started in 1937, the club will commemorate its 90th anniversary of that particular habit come January.
Other teams across Britain would be hard-pressed to match that catalogue of traditions aimed at paying homage to the monarchy. So while they may be situated north of the border, thanks to Souness’ input, Rangers could be considered the most patriotic club in the land by some distance.
