Flag of England
The national flag of England, a constituent country of the United Kingdom, is derived from Saint George's Cross. The association of the red cross as an emblem of England can be traced back to the Late Middle Ages when it was gradually, increasingly, used alongside the Royal Banner. It became the only saint's flag permitted to be flown in public as part of the English Reformation and at a similar time became the pre-eminent maritime flag referred to as a white ensign.
It was used as a component in the design of the Union Jack in 1606.
It has been widely used since the 1990s, specifically at national sporting events, especially during the campaigns of England's national football teams.
Origins
On 21 January 1188, Henry II of England and Philip II of France agreed to go on a crusade, and that Henry would use a white cross and Philip a red cross.There then follows a historiographical tradition claiming that Richard the Lionheart himself adopted the full red cross flag and the patron saint from the Republic of Genoa at some point during his crusade. This idea can be traced to the Victorian era, Perrin refers to it as a "common belief", and it is still popularly repeated today even though it cannot be substantiated.
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent made a variation to this in a bilingual preface to a brochure made for the British Pavilion at Genoa Expo '92. The relevant passage read:
The St. George's flag, a red cross on a white field, was adopted by England and the City of London in 1190 for their ships entering the Mediterranean to benefit from the protection of the Genoese fleet. The English Monarch paid an annual tribute to the Doge of Genoa for this privilege
Red crosses seem to have been used as a distinguishing mark worn by English soldiers from the reign of Edward I, or perhaps slightly earlier, in the Battle of Evesham of 1265, using a red cross on their uniforms to distinguish themselves from the white crosses used by the rebel barons at the Battle of Lewes a year earlier. Perrin notes a roll of accounts from 1277 where the purchase of cloth for the king's tailor is identified as destined for the manufacture of a large number of pennoncels and bracers "of the arms of Saint George" for the use by the king's foot soldiers. Perrin concludes from this that the introduction of the Cross of St George as a "national emblem" is originally due to Edward I. By 1300, there was also a greater "banner of Saint George", but not yet in a prominent function; the king used it among especially banners of king-saints Saint Edward the Confessor and Saint Edmund the Martyr alongside the royal banner. George had become popular as a "warrior saint" during the Crusades, but the saint most closely associated with England was Edward the Confessor. This was so until the time of 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 inceptive Order of the Garter in 1348. 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. Yet the flag shown for England in the Book of All Kingdoms of 1367 is solid red. The Wilton Diptych from the late 1390s shows a swallow-tailed Saint George cross pennant held by an angel in between King Richard II and a scene of the Virgin and Child flanked by angels wearing Richard's own heraldic devices.
Saint George's Day was considered a "double major feast" from 1415, but George was still eclipsed by his "rivals" Saints Edward and Edmund.
John Cabot, commissioned by Henry VII to sail "under our banners, flags and ensigns", may have taken a Saint George's banner to Newfoundland in 1497.
That Saint George is the primary patron saint of England is among several lasting changes of height of the English Protestant Reformation, via the content which the teenage king and his Protestant advisors issued to all churches and clerics. These rules were the revised prayer book of 1552. Just as with the Marian persecutions all defecting clerics faced likely deprivation which was the loss of their office and if more broadly heretical, burning at the stake. The book made clear all religious flags, including saints' banners except for Saint George were abolished.
Further use of this cross as a maritime flag alongside royal banners, is found in 1545.
Henry V, the history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written near 1599 includes the fictitious scene of the siege of Harfleur where the king's final rally is:
Cry 'God for Harry, England, and Saint George!"
thus promoting the notion that the cult or festivities specifically to the saint, or focus on the Order of the Garter put him significantly ahead of two other national saints - instead of depicting that they were approximately equal. The quote became rapidly well known in London, across social classes, and thus imagery entrenched that Saint George was "historically" the primary saint.
In 1606, after the Union of the Crowns in 1603, it was combined with the Scottish St Andrew's Cross to form the Union Jack, which James VI & I ordered be flown from the main tops of ships from both England and Scotland. The "Red Crosse" continued to be flown from the fore-top by James' subjects in "South Britaine"—i.e., the Saint George cross was used with the new union flag on English vessels.
File:Union Flag and St Georges Cross.jpg|thumb|250px|The flag of England flying alongside the flag of the United Kingdom in Southsea, Portsmouth, in July 2008
In the 19th century, it became desirable for all nations of Europe to identify a national flag. During that time, the terms Britain and England were used largely interchangeably, the Union Flag was used as national flag de facto, even though never officially adopted. The observation that the Cross of St George is the "national flag of England" was made in the context of Irish irredentism, as noted by G. K. Chesterton in 1933:
As a very sensible Irishman said in a letter to a Dublin paper: "The Union Jack is not the national flag of England." The national flag of England is the Cross of St. George; and that, oddly enough, was splashed from one end of Dublin to the other; it was mostly displayed on shield-shaped banners, and may have been regarded by many as merely religious.
Derived flags
Union Flag
The flag of England is one of the key components of the Union Flag. The Union Flag has been used in a variety of forms since the proclamation by Orders in Council 1606, when the flags of Scotland and England were first merged to symbolise the Union of the Crowns.. In Scotland, and in particular on Scottish vessels at sea, historical evidence suggests that a separate design of Union Flag was flown to that used in England.In the Acts of Union of 1707, which united the Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England to become the Kingdom of Great Britain, it was declared that "the Crosses of St. George and St. Andrew be conjoined, in such Manner as her Majesty shall think fit, and used in all Flags, Banners, Standards and Ensigns, both at Sea and Land."
From 1801, to symbolise the union of the Kingdom of Great Britain with the Kingdom of Ireland, a new design which included St Patrick's Cross was adopted for the flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The Flag of the United Kingdom, having remained unchanged following the partition of Ireland in 1921 and creation of the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland, continues to be used as the flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
City of London
The flag of the City of London is based on the English flag, having a centred St George's Cross on a white background, with a red sword in the upper hoist canton. The sword is believed to represent the sword that was used to behead Saint Paul, who is the patron saint of the city.File:Flag of the City of London.svg|Flag of the City of London
Royal Navy
The flag used by the British Royal Navy is also based on the flag of England, consisting of St George's Cross with a Union Flag in the canton. In addition to the United Kingdom, several countries in the Commonwealth of Nations also have variants of the White Ensign with their own national flags in the canton, with St George's Cross sometimes being replaced by a naval badge.File:Naval Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg|White Ensign of the Royal Navy
Universities of England
Contemporary use
Church of England
Churches belonging to the Church of England which have a pole may fly St George's Cross. A desirable variant is for the church to fly the flag with the arms of the diocese in the left-hand upper corner.Sporting events
The flag heavily dominates for that of England at sports events in which England competes, for example during England Cricket matches, during Rugby Union matches and in football. It is also used in icons on the internet and on the TV screen to represent teams and players from England.For at least some decades before about 1996, most of the flags waved by supporters were Union Flags. In a sporting context, the flag is often seen being waved by supporters with the addition of 'ENGLAND' across its horizontal bar.
File:English fan - RWC 2007.jpg|English Rugby team supporter waving the English flag in the streets of Nantes, France in 2007
File:London, Wembley - Giant England Flag - geograph.org.uk - 2112461.jpg|Giant England Flag at Wembley Stadium
File:England Lionesses Bus Celebration - The Mall, London - Tuesday 29th July 2025 12.jpg|The Lionesses open top bus celebration following their winning UEFA Women's Euro 2025 tournament.
File:England Cricket Celebrations.jpg|England cricket fans celebrate in Trafalgar Square, 2005.
File:XIX Commonwealth Games-2010 Delhi Winners of, Malaysia, India and England, during the medal presentation ceremony, at Siri Fort Complex, in New Delhi on October 08, 2010.jpg|England Commonwealth Games badminton team on the winner's podium at the 2010 games.