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Joseph Whitley
Professor Raymond
UWRT 1104
13 March, 2017
My Country of Origins History

One country that my family originates from is England. The origins of the English flag

go very far back. For centuries, red tunics with a white cross were worn by the English crusades.

It was not until the 12th century that they decided to switch with the French and take the white

tunics with a red cross. The red cross was used by kings, soldiers, and saints to symbolize

England during and after the crusades. It was also named as the banner of St. Georges cross

after the 13th century.

Starting in the 16th century, the Scottish flag and English flag were combined because of

Queen Elizabeths decision to name King James VI of Scotland as the King of England. This

combination made it easy for the United Kingdom to share a common flag. Since the national

flag and the Union flag have been almost interchangeable in the past couple hundred years,

England has used the plain red cross to distinguish themselves from the union. It was not until

the late 18th century that England started this because European countries started to switch from

royal flags.

The national anthem of England was scripted in the 16th and 17th century by several

authors. It became relevant in the Gentlemans Magazine as early as 1745. It is very popular

around the world, being known as God Save the Queen. The national anthem of England is a

very important part of their history.

As of now, I could not become a citizen of England. However, becoming a citizen of

England can be done through many ways. One is by naturalization. This requires you to be 18

and to have lived in the U.K. for the past five years. There is also several other requirements to
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be naturalized but usually are not an issue. One other way to become a citizen is to have a

spouse in England. This requires you to have lived in the U.K. for at least three years. I can

apply through an individual application, use the NCS, or use an agent or representative to do it

for me.
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References

Flag of England. (2017, March 10). Retrieved March 13, 2017, from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_England

Upton, E. (2013, May 21). How the United Kingdom Flag Design Came to Be as It is Today.
Retrieved March 17, 2017, from http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2013/05/how-the-
united-kingdom-flag-design-came-to-be-as-it-is-today/

Meyer, A. (1970, January 01). England Forever. Retrieved March 13, 2017, from
http://www.englandforever.org/englands-flag.php

Register as a British citizen - GOV.UK. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.gov.uk/register-

british-citizen/overview

The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica. (1998, July 20). God Save the Queen. Retrieved March
13, 2017, from https://www.britannica.com/topic/God-Save-the-Queen-British-national-
anthem