St George’s Day
23rd of April is St. George’s Day, when we celebrate the Patron Saint of England. Most people know that St. George killed the Dragon, but not many know that he first came over to England when King Richard 1 (Richard the Lionheart) came back from the Crusades, where he had invoked the Saint’s protection in the fighting. That’s why you often see pictures of Richard the Lionheart wearing the Cross of St. George. Another fighting King, Edward 1, cemented St. George’s position as England’s Patron Saint.
Not everyone knows that before St. George, England had its own native-born Patron Saint – St. Edmund. He was a 9th-Century King who was killed by the Vikings. As well as being our original English Patron Saint, St. Edmund is also, rather surprisingly, the patron saint of pandemics.
April 23rd is also the birthday of the greatest English playwright, William Shakespeare (curiously, he died on the same day too), and moving into much more recent times it was the birthday in 2018 of His Royal Highness Prince Louis.