England's had wings as long as he can remember, beautiful white wings. At first, he didn't bother to hide them. They were a part of himself, he saw no reason to be ashamed. He vaguely remembered his mother, Britannia, showing him how to care for his wings. She was gone quickly though. One day her comforting presence just left him. She was replaced with Rome when his brothers fled from the advance of the Roman Empire. He began to learn caution from Rome. He learned to avoid people, especially foreigners. To avoid attention. People didn't quite understand his wings, and though they weren't afraid yet, they tended to avoid him. Still, a cape managed to dissuade most questions.
After Rome left his brothers came back. But he found they were not as he had remembered them being. They were aggressive and dismissive, always hungry for war with him. They sought always to push him down. His wings became a prime target for them. They would yank on his wings and pull out feathers. He learned how to hide and how to pick his battles from his brothers. The fay became his constant companions. They taught him magic, defensive magic and offensive magic. But they refused to teach him how to hide his wings. To them, the wings were beautiful and didn't deserve to be hidden. They considered his wings a sign of his power.
When France came, England thought he would be his savior. His angel. France never did see England's wings though. By this time he was too insecure about them to show them to anyone, even his assumed savior. France's protection and company turned out horribly in England's opinion, however. He began to retreat into himself. And so, from France, he learned self-reliance.
As England grew, so did his wings. Eventually, his cloak was no longer enough to hide them. He designed a harness of sorts to keep them pinned to his back under his shirt, so no one would notice. It wasn't comfortable, but it worked. To further protect what had become his secret, he found a memory spell. Thus he managed to ensure that none of his brothers, and the rest of the world, remembered that he had wings.