Articles of Union were agreed and signed by both Grand Masters and their Committees at Kensington Palace on 25th November 1813 and were then ratified by both Grand Lodges. They were of such importance that for many years they were carried into every Grand Lodge meeting by the Grand Registrar in a purse heavily embroidered with the Arms adopted by Grand Lodge, which did not formally apply for a grant of Arms until 1919.

The need to amalgamate the two former systems was taken as an opportunity to standardise various elements. A Lodge of Reconciliation was warranted to bring uniformity in matter of ritual, though the refusal to allow printed rituals ensured a wide variety in the manner in which the ritual was carried out. In l814 the Board of Works introduced standard patterns of regalia and jewels from which no deviation was permitted without the Grand Master's permission. Grand Officers were provided with plain undress and heavily embroidered full dress aprons edged with garter blue, the most ornate being the Grand Master's apron. A list of Lodge officers was approved and each was provided with an emblem of office to be worn from a sky blue collar.

Despite the many changes brought about by the Union there was only one short-lived breakaway from Grand Lodge. Some Lancashire Lodges were suspended in 1819 for refusing to come to terms with the changes and immediately formed themselves into what became known as the Wigan Grand Lodge. The revolt had petered out by the mid-l830s and the Lodges fell into abeyance.

As a result of the firm leadership of the Duke of Sussex and his aides the United Grand Lodge was firmly established and became recognised throughout the Masonic world as the fountainhead of Masonic regularity. From a little over six hundred Lodges in 1814 it has grown to some eight and a half thousand Lodges in England, Wales and Districts abroad. Many of its Lodges abroad, together with others formed by the Grand Lodges of Ireland and Scotland, have achieved independence, and sovereign and independent Grand Lodges have been established in the Canadian Provinces, Australian States, New Zealand and India. Although these, and other regular Grand Lodges abroad, are totally independent they enjoy a happy relationship with the United Grand Lodge of England, the Mother Grand Lodge of the world.