In 1912, Rice was sent to Washington, D.C. as the British ambassador to the United States of America. While serving as ambassador, he tried to get President Woodrow Wilson to give up on neutrality and join Britain and her Empire in the war against Germany. After America entered the war, Rice was called back to Britain. Shortly before he left the United States, in January of 1918, he re-wrote and re-titled "Urbs Dei", after making big changes to the first verse to talk more about the huge losses that British soldiers were having in the war years.