St George is quite interesting and, I think, very appropriate as a patron for England.

Firstly, since patrons don't supplant each other, England has 3 patron saints ... Edmund The Martyr(d.869), Edward "The Confessor"(d.1066) and George of Lydda (d.275-285 approx) ... all of them are, in the original, examples of Christian forbearance.

Forget the dragon (a far later tale). George was chosen by the Normans because of his appearance to their armies (from 1063 onwards) and leading them from defeat to Victory. Before that, though, George was very important in England. He was mentioned as a seminal Christian figure by Bede (c730) and there were a relatively large number of English churches dedicated to George before the conquest. The original George was executed by beheading after various torture sessions, during which he continued to object to the Romans' cruel treatment of Christians.

We didn't just forget our other patrons either. St Edmund's banner was carried at the battle of Agincourt

:-)
Ian