<P> There was a historiographical tradition claiming that Richard the Lionheart himself adopted both the flag and the patron saint from Genoa at some point during his crusade . This idea can be traced to the Victorian era, Perrin (1922) refers to it as a "common belief", and it is still popularly repeated today even though it cannot be substantiated as historical . </P> <P> On the origins of the flag and its connection to the Genoese flag the Duke of Kent remarked in 1992: </P> <P> "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 ." </P> <P> The red cross was introduced to England by the late 13th century, but not as a flag, and not at the time associated with Saint George . It was worn by English soldiers as an identification from the early years of the reign of Edward I (1270s), and perhaps originated a few years earlier, in the Second Barons' War (specifically in the Battle of Evesham of 1265, during which, according to chronicler William Rishanger, Simon de Montford observed that the king had taken from him the idea of having his soldiers marked with a cross). </P>

When did england adopt the st george's cross