England Flag (St George)

A Brief History of the England Flag

The origins of the red cross on a white background can be traced as far back as the crusades. However, when Henry II of England went on a crusade in 1188 the banner he used was of a white cross on a red background. At some point, this designation was reversed as red crosses seem to have been used as a distinguishing mark worn by English soldiers from the reign of Edward I (the 1270s) onwards.

By 1300, there was also a greater “banner of St George”, but not yet in a prominent function; the king used it among several banners of saints alongside the royal banner.

Saint George had become popular as a “warrior saint” during the crusades and Edward III, who in thanks for Saint George’s supposed intervention in his favour at the Battle of Crécy gave him a special position as a patron saint of the Order of the Garter in 1348 and from that time, his banner was used with increasing prominence alongside the Royal Banner and became a fixed element in the hoist of the Royal Standard.

St. George finally rose to the position of the primary patron saint of England during the English Reformation when all religious flags, including all saints’ banners except for his were abolished.

Under the stewardship of King James, in 1606 it was combined with the Scottish St. Andrew’s Cross to form the Union Jack.

Since then the terms Britain and England were used largely interchangeably and the Union Flag was used as England’s national flag even though it has never been officially adopted as such.