Bayeux tapestry returns to UK for first time in nearly 1,000 years

Overnight, the 70-metre-long (229ft) tapestry, which is linen with embroidered images of the Norman Conquest, arrived at the British Museum from France. It was created around 960 years ago.

The Metropolitan Police Service and Kent Police transported the 11th-century embroidery from Folkestone to London in what the British Museum has called “one of the most significant international museum loans ever undertaken between the two countries”.

Around 7.5 million people are expected to see the 11th Century artwork in London when it goes on show from September to July 2027.

The tapestry depicts the 1066 Norman invasion and Battle of Hastings, which saw William the Conqueror take the English throne from King Harold and become the first Norman king of England.

It is not known exactly where the artwork was crafted but most scholars today it was made in England, probably in or around Canterbury, according to the British Museum.

It has been on display at the Bayeux Tapestry Museum in Bayeux in Normandy since 1983 and will return there when the museum opens after renovation.

Director of the British Museum Dr Nicholas Cullinan said: “This has been a monumental effort from colleagues at the British Museum and our partners in the UK and France.

“Watching the Tapestry arrive at the Museum is a moment I will never forget and I look forward to seeing the exhibition take shape over the coming weeks and welcoming the first visitors through our doors this September.”

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy added: “Make no mistake – this is an historic moment and a significant act of friendship as we welcome this iconic historical tapestry back to Britain for the first time in almost 1,000 years.

“This exhibition is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn about this pivotal period in our national story and our shared heritage and friendship with France, which endures to the present day. I’m delighted to welcome this tapestry back onto British shores.”

Over the past year the British Museum has worked with colleagues from the Ministry of Culture (General Directorate of Heritage and Architecture and the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs of Normandy), the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the specialised transport company Hizkia to arrange the transport of the tapestry.

French president Emmanuel Macron has also said the loan of the Bayeux Tapestry to the British Museum shows what the two countries “can achieve when they join forces”.

Writing in The Times, Macron said the loan was a “tangible expression of long-standing friendship and a sign of our shared desire to see France and the United Kingdom build their future together”.

He said the two nations recognise what sets each other apart, but also “their natural affinity and what they can achieve when they join forces”.

The Bayeux Tapestry depicts the 1066 Norman invasion and Battle of Hastings, which saw William the Conqueror take the English throne from King Harold and become the first Norman king of England.

The British Museum has said demand to see the “once-in-a-generation exhibition has already been unprecedented”.

When general admission tickets went on sale last week, the museum recorded the single biggest day of ticket sales in its history, generating more than £2.4 million in sales in the first 24 hours.

Over the coming weeks the tapestry will undergo condition checks before being carefully installed within a custom showcase ahead of the exhibition opening.

It has been on display at the Bayeux Tapestry Museum in Bayeux in Normandy since 1983 and will return there when the museum reopens after renovation.