Prince Charles will represent the Royal Family at the Games because of the Queen's heavy schedule, Buckingham Palace has announced.

As insidethegames had revealed in April, it had already been confirmed that Prince Charles would attend the Opening Ceremony on October 3 but it had been hoped that the Queen would still visit New Delhi at some point during the Games.

But Buckingham Palace has now confirmed that the Queen will miss the Games for the first time since they were held at Kingston in Jamaica in 1966.

A spokesman for Buckingham Palace said: "The sheer volume of engagements this autumn, coupled with other overseas visits, means she would not be able to attend."

Earlier this year, the Queen also turned down the opportunity to open the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

The decision not to attend New Delhi means she will miss Jerusalem being played when an English athlete stands on top of the medal podium at the Games in the Indian capital.

The decision follows a month-long public vote conducted by Commonwealth Games England (CGE), which saw Jerusalem coming out as a runaway favourite.

Voters were able to choose between God Save The Queen, Jerusalem and Land of Hope and Glory - with Jerusalem beating the both the national anthem and the anthem previously used for English athletes competing at Commonwealth Games.

England athlete Dean Macey (pictured), who won the gold medal in the decathlon at the 2006 Games in Melbourne, welcomed the new anthem.

He said: "Jerusalem’s awesome for getting you pumped before competing.

"Couple this with the huge pride that comes in wearing the red lion and you’ve got the perfect anthem for England’s Commonwealth Games."

Jerusalem, a poem written by William Blake in 1808 and which had music written for it by Sir Hubert Parry in 1916, polled 52 per cent in the vote, ahead of Land of Hope and Glory which got 32.5 per cent and God Save The Queen 12 per cent.

The hymn includes the line, "Bring me my Chariot of fire!", which inspired the title of the Oscar-winning film Chariots of Fire, which tells the tales of British sprinters Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, and Harold Abrahams, an English Jew who runs to overcome prejudice, win gold medals at the 1924 Olympics in Paris.

Duncan Lewis, the marketing director for CGE, said: "The nation has spoken and we are delighted to accept Jerusalem as the anthem for England athletes in Delhi. 

"The response from the public has been absolutely fantastic and I hope they will carry on this level of enthusiasm in supporting the team in Delhi this summer."

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