Flag of England - Origins

Origins

At the beginning of the Crusades the Pope decided that English crusaders would be distinguished by wearing a white cross on red (whilst French crusaders wore a red cross on white and Italian knights were allocated a yellow cross on a white background) In January 1188 the French King, Philip II of France accepted the claim of the English to the red cross on white,. In the same year Henry II of England and Philip II of France agreed to exchange flags (France later changed its new white cross on red for a white cross on a dark blue flag). Some French knights continued to use the red cross regardless, and as English knights wore this pattern as well, the red cross on white may have become an early standard crusader symbol irrespective of nationality.

On the origins of the flag (dating as far back as 1096) the Duke of Kent remarked:

"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."
HRH The Duke of Kent

It can thus be deduced that the 'Cross of St. George' would have flown in England prior to the second crusade. The St George's Cross was also used as an emblem (but not as a flag) of England in a roll of account relating to the Welsh War of 1275. The English royalist forces at the Battle of Evesham in 1265 used 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.

St George's cross may not have achieved the representative national flag until the 16th century, when all other saints' banners were abandoned during the Reformation. Thereafter it became recognised as the flag of England and Wales. The earliest record of St George's Cross at sea, as an English flag in conjunction with royal banners but no other saintly flags, was 1545.