In 1864, Col. Antonio Vallecillo published the story in the diary El Espíritu Público (The Public Spirit), claiming a supposed Prussian origin for Marcha Real.

In 1770, Charles III declared the Marcha de Granaderos the official Honor March, an act that formalized the tradition of playing it in public, especially on solemn occasions.

In 1870, after the 1868 Revolution, 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 Marcha de Granaderos was already considered the country's official anthem, and the contest was suspended.

[5] The current symphonic version of the 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 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.

The current official version of Marcha Real, as described in Royal Decree 1560/1997,[6] is a sixteen-bar long phrase, divided in two sections, each one is made up of four repeated bars (AABB form).

There are also three official arrangements: one for orchestra, another for military band, and a third for organ, written by Francisco Grau and requested by the Government of Spain.

The government bought it from Pérez Casas' estate in 1997 for 130 million pesetas (781,315.734 euros) to avoid future legal problems.

[15] The winning lyrics were sung by the Ronda de Aranzueque choir in Pastrana, and filmed by German television.

Púrpura y oro: bandera inmortal; en tus colores, juntas, carne y alma están.

Púrpura y oro: querer y lograr; Tú eres, bandera, el signo del humano afán.

Para que, un día, nos pueda cubrir, ¡danos, España, el gozo de morir por ti!

Lyrics were adapted from an earlier version on 1928 written by José María Pemán (1897–1981) during the reign of Alfonso XIII and the government of Miguel Primo de Rivera.

[20] The changes, made by Peman himself, intended to fit the symbols of the extreme right-wing ideology of General Francisco Franco, referred to as National Catholicism, which were the "salute with the extended right arm" and the "yoke and arrows".

Even though it is also played in church events, respect for the royal family is required by everyone in attendance; civilians stand at attention, and those in uniform salute when not in formation.