St George and the Tudors

A medieval tradition

St George’s Day had been celebrated in England long before the Tudors. The earliest documented mention of St George was by the Venerable Bead, an English monk and scholar who died in 735. His feast day is mentioned in the Durham Collectar, a 9th-century liturgical work compiled during the reign of King Alfred the Great, who is also purported to have referred to St George in his will. 

St George started to emerge as a national patron in the 13th century and, since the reign of Edward III, he had been the special patron of the Order of the Garter, England's highest order of chivalry. On 23 April each year, the knights gathered at St George’s Chapel in Windsor to honour the saint. Celebrations included processions, a religious service and a banquet attended by the queen and high-ranking noblewomen.

Throughout England, ordinary people celebrated St George’s Day with a re-enactment of St George defeating the dragon. 

The dawn of the Tudor dynasty

Henry VII and St George

When Henry VII defeated Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth, he rode to St Paul’s Cathedral in London, where he offered his three standards - a dun cow, the red dragon of Cadwaladr and the banner of St George. Henry’s claim to the throne was tenuous and disputed, so St George’s image was useful to present himself as a devout Christian and loyal son to the Pope. Thus, the Tudor love affair with St George began.

Henry even commissioned an altarpiece (now on display at Hampton Court Palace) depicting himself and his family in prayer beside the saint. 

During the King’s Twelfth Night celebrations in 1494, players performed the tale of St George and the dragon in Westminster Hall. To everyone’s surprise, the King’s Players were interrupted by William Cornish, dressed as St George on horseback. Then, in came a maiden and a large red dragon spitting fire from his mouth. 

Leading the maiden and the dragon to the King, Cornish delivered a speech, followed by a song celebrating St George as the patron Saint of England. When the Gentlemen of the Chapel Royal joined in, Cornish led the dragon out of the hall and the maiden was presented to the Queen, Elizabeth of York. 

In his will, Henry showed his special devotion to St George. Firstly, he named St George as one of the saints to which he commended the special care of his soul. He then bequeathed a dazzling gold statue of the saint set with rubies, pearls, sapphires and diamonds to the College of St George at Windsor Castle. 

After Henry VII’s death, the first Tudor King was buried in a gorgeous chapel in Westminster Abbey. Among the relics he bequeathed to the altar there was a leg bone of St George, which had once belonged to the King of France.

Henry VIII, defender of England

The second Tudor King and St George

Henry VIII’s image was shared and promoted more than any ruler before him. Proclaimed on St George’s Day 1509, two days after his father had actually died, the younger Henry cast himself in the role of St George: a brave and chivalric young King of England, a devout Christian and the military champion of his people. 

The year after his accession, Henry declared 23 April as his official birthday. In 1513 he made St George his personal patron saint. 

Throughout the turmoil of Henry VIII’s six wives, his break with Rome and the religious upheaval that followed, the King maintained this image. The message was clear: he was the defender of the state, the church and the souls of the English people. 

Henry also surrounded himself with images of the patron saint. Among his surviving personal possessions is an exquisite writing box from the 1520s, which shows the figure of St George alongside other powerful and mythological figures.

While both Henry VII and his son celebrated St George in style, the same was not true of all of Henry VIII’s children. 

Edward VI and Mary I

When the 9-year-old Edward VI inherited the throne in 1547, he put a stop to all processions and temporarily severed the connection between St George and the monarch. A staunch Protestant, Edward and others of his faith believed there were too many saints’ days, so they limited their celebration. 

However, when his Catholic sister Mary became Queen in 1553, she reinstated the St George’s Day celebrations. 

An Elizabethan symbol of identity and strength

Elizabeth I and St George

Five years later, Mary was succeeded by her Protestant half-sister Elizabeth I. The new Queen followed Edward VI’s example, and the feast of St George ceased to be celebrated. 

But, ever the mistress of PR, Elizabeth appreciated how useful St George could be as a symbol of England’s identity and strength. She therefore continued to use the saint in her portraits and palaces. 

One of the most famous paintings from Elizabeth’s reign is the Armada Portrait, commissioned to celebrate England’s victory over the Spanish Armada in 1588. In the background, you can see the triumphant English navy proudly flying the flag of St George.

Towards the very end of the Elizabeth’s reign, William Shakespeare, the most celebrated playwright of the age, gave the saint top billing in his play, Henry V. When leading his troops into battle at Agincourt, the warrior King proclaimed: ‘Cry ‘God for Harry, England, and Saint George!’

And so St George – like Henry V’s victorious army – lived to fight another day. Now, more than 400 years after the end of the Tudor dynasty, he is still firmly embedded in English culture.