The Royal Society of St. George was formed 127 years ago in 1894 by Buckinghamshire-born agriculturalist Howard Ruff and solicitor Harry W. Christmas to establish ‘on a permanent basis a patriotic English society’.

Struck by the neglect of English patriotism, on each recurring St. George’s Day, Howard Ruff wrote to the press on this subject and was the first person to adopt the custom of wearing an English Rose on the 23rd April. In 1900, he gave up farming to devote his time exclusively to The Society.

The Society quickly attracted the support of many distinguished public figures in England and throughout the British Empire. Its first Royal Patron was Queen Victoria, and The Society has enjoyed the Patronage of every reigning monarch from that day to this.

King Edward VII granted The Society the prefix "Royal" in 1902. In 1963, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II bestowed a notable honour upon us by granting the Society its own Royal Charter, a distinction of which its members are justifiably proud. The Society has unique Armorial Bearings granted under Letters Patent in 1990 and these bearings can be found on ties, scarves, brooches and plaques available to our members. The Motto of The Society is "St. George for England” and our badges are, St. George and the Dragon and the Cross of St. George.

In addition to the traditional St. George’s Day Dinner, The Society holds several activities throughout the year including a Service of Thanksgiving in Westminster Abbey, usually on the nearest Saturday to St. George's Day, during which a wreath is laid on the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior. Prior to this, a service is held at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, during which wreaths are laid. Flowers are sent to our Royal Patron, Her Majesty the Queen, on her birthday, 21st April, by The Society on behalf of all its members and branches.

More than a century on, sixty branches of our Royal Society are active in England and thirty overseas, including our Paris Branch, one of the oldest in the world, founded in the 1930s. For obvious reasons of international diplomacy, Trafalgar, Waterloo and Agincourt never have, and never will be celebrated here.

With thousands of members proudly celebrating all things English around the world, undoubtedly, one hundred and twenty seven years on from that founding meeting, the legacy of Ruff and Christmas remains very much alive.

Recent Paris Branch Presidents

Frank Laws Johnson (60's - 70's)

Charles Spencer Bernard (80's - 90's)

Howard Norman 2000 - 2006 (Honorary President)

Charles Spencer-Bernard 2006 - 2011 (Honorary President)

Howard Norman 2011 - 2014

Alasdair Akass 2014 - 2015

Alicia Suminski 2015 - 2017

Howard Norman 2017 - 2018

Andrew Simpkin from 2018