With Melton Mowbray pork pies on the menu and celebrities including the paralympian Dame Sarah Storey and actor Ross Kemp among those invited, Downing Street scheduled a St George’s Day reception on Tuesday evening.
But the Church of England may have some bad news for Sir Keir Starmer — and anyone else unfurling a St George’s flag this week.
Officials must have thought the event, designed to celebrate “the very best of our nation’s music, culture and sport”, was perfectly timed on the eve of the English patron saint’s annual feast day of April 23.
Morris dancers from the Sidmouth Steppers in Devon celebrate St George’s Day
MARK PASSMORE FOR THE TIMES
MARK PASSMORE FOR THE TIMES
But anyone celebrating the Roman soldier’s dragon-slaying heroics today will do so five days too early, at least based on the Christian calendar.
According to tradition, saints’ days are not