Because of an increasingly misinformed racist undertone of exclusivity and of an Englishness which is still divided as much by wealth disparity, misinformation, myth, class and a north / south divide as it ever was, the working class now fly the English flags on their council estates, whilst the landed, the rich and the royal's fly the Union Jack from their battlements.

The Union Jack, the flag of the colonies and the commonwealth is the flag of the world and of the greatest empire this world has ever seen. An empire which the sun never set upon. To be British is to be a man/woman from the world and of the world, but according to some disillusioned and misdirected souls not all can be English and only a select few are wanted by them to be so.

The St George Cross has been appropriated by a white working class and underclass synonymous with pit bulls and Council Estates and has been adopted as the flag of the right wing BNP. To the misguided It represents an idealized England now lost but wished for again. To them, The George Cross does not represent this modern multiracial and multi faith country which England has become in the 21st Century. To them, this is not the England that their fathers and fore fathers fought and died for and to them, St George symbolizes and epitomizes everything that is English just as Shakespeare's Henry V rouses his men at Agincourt before the greatest of all victories in English military history.

"I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,

Straining upon the start. The game's afoot:

Follow your spirit, and upon this charge

Cry 'God for Harry, England, and Saint George!'"

But George himself according to legend/likelihood was born into a noble Christian family in Lydda (Lod) in Palestine during the late 3rd century of a Cappadocian father serving in The Roman army and a Palestinian mother. George became a Tribune under Diocletian, and was beheaded when ordered by the Emperor, to pay tribute to Roman gods. He become a martyr and was celebrated by many around the world because of his strong beliefs and his refusal to denounce them. He died for a monotheistic God and is as much respected by Islam as he is venerated by Christians. He has become a truly global saint who crosses continents and religious ideology. St George is Patron Saint not only of England but also of Aragon, Catalonia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Greece, Lithuania, Palestine, Portugal, and Russia, as well as the cities of Amersfoort, Beirut, Bteghrine, Càceres, Ferrara, Freiburg, Genoa, Ljubljana, Gozo, Pomorie, Qormi, Lod and Moscow.

In The Quran Muslims across the Middle East have traditionally associated George with Al Khadr, literally Ôthe Green OneÕ, signifying wisdom that is ever fresh and imperishable. According to tradition, George often prayed near the Temple Mount in Jerusalem where an elongated mosque named Qubbat Al-Khadr is dedicated to him. GeorgeÕs shrine in Palestine came to be a place of pilgrimage for Christians and Muslims seeking out its special healing powers. Women visited the site in hope of conceiving, while those with health complaints would go there for miraculous cures. It is still very much visited today. Other sites include The great Beirut mosque of Al-Khadr that lies close to where George legendarily slayed the dragon, saved a princess and caused the whole city to convert to Christianity.

It was during the crusades where St George was really picked up by the Christian Knights. The cult of the saint was given a huge boost when he was said to have appeared to the crusading armies at the Battle of Dorylaeum, in 1097, and the Siege of Antioch, in 1198. Both were great crusading victories, and so St George came to be seen as a protector of Christian soldiery. During the first Crusade, the Pope decided that knights of different nationalites should be distinguished by different colours of cross. French knights were allocated the red cross on white. English knights had a white cross on a red background etc, etc. English knights complained about this, since they considered this to be "their" St George's cross. In 1188 the French King, Philip II of France accepted the claim of the English to the red cross on white and the English and French officially exchanged their respective crosses. However by this time, the red cross on white had become a typical crusader symbol and many knights from whatever country and order would wear the tunic. The Chivalric military Order of St. George were established in Aragon (1201), Genoa, Hungary, and by Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and England's Edward III put his Order of the Garter under the banner of St. George. From about 1277, due to its already widespread use, St George's cross officially became the national flag of England and Wales and The three lions remained the coat of arms and flag of the king.