The Maltese Cross (✠) has been the symbol of the Christian warrior since the First Crusade. It is in the form of four "V" shaped arms joined together at their bases, so that each arm has two points, and the cross has eight points in all.

Today the Maltese Cross remains the symbol of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. In recent centuries it has come to be adopted as the insignia of numerous orders of chivalry, and appears on the coat-of-arms of the Mecklenburg-Strelitz district. In Australia the Maltese Cross is the state emblem of Queensland, and is also the symbol for Ambulance Services nationwide.

In Great Britain the first postmark employed for the cancellation of the then new postage stamps in the 1840s was the shape of a Maltese Cross and named accordingly.

Modified versions (properly known as the cross pattée) appear as the Victoria Cross and on the flag of Wallis and Futuna.

The cross used as the symbol of various Fire Services in the United States are often referred to as Maltese Cross, although this is strictly speaking incorrect.

At King George V's funeral procession, as the funeral cortege turned into New Palace Yard, the Maltese Cross fell from the Crown and landed in the gutter. This was viewed as a bad omen for the next King, Edward VIII, who would abdicate before the year was out.

External links

• Recent detailed examination of history
• Short history leading to reason why firefighters wear the cross
• MathWorld version of how to draw cross