What cross forms the flag of England?

The flag of England is formed by Saint George’s Cross.

It is a red cross on a white field, described in heraldic language as Argent, a cross gules. The cross is associated with Saint George, the soldier-saint who became England’s patron during the later Middle Ages.

The emblem’s history is more complicated than the popular claim that Richard the Lionheart simply brought it back from the Crusades. Red crosses were used by English soldiers as identification in the thirteenth century, and Saint George’s importance grew notably after the founding of the Order of the Garter in 1348.

Saint George’s Cross is often confused with the Union Flag. The Union Flag combines English, Scottish, and later Irish symbols to represent the United Kingdom; Saint George’s Cross alone represents England. It also forms one component of the Union Flag created after the Union of the Crowns in 1603.