Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne

Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne (HWV 74) is a secular cantata composed by George Frideric Handel to a libretto by Ambrose Philips, of which the first line, "Eternal source of light divine", provides an alternative title for the work.

Queen Anne was said by the Duke of Manchester to be "too careless or too busy to listen to her own band, and had no thought of hearing and paying new players however great their genius or vast their skill.

"[2] Nevertheless, and whether or not she ever heard this ode for her birthday, she granted Handel a "pension" (subsidy for living expenses) of two hundred pounds a year, for life.

[2] Each of the seven stanzas of the ode concludes with the following words sung by the chorus: On 23 August 2007, Kate Royal performed the aria "Eternal source of light divine" at the Proms.

[3] On 19 May 2018, Elin Manahan Thomas performed the aria "Eternal source of light divine" as the bridal entry music for the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, accompanied by the event's orchestra and with David Blackadder playing the trumpet obbligato.