Bayeux Tapestry to be loaned to England for first time
Bayeux Tapestry returning to UK for first time in 900 years
- The Bayeux Tapestry, which chronicles the 1066 Norman Conquest, is set to be displayed at the British Museum for the first time.
- The announcement of the 70-metre-long medieval tapestry's loan is expected on Wednesday during French President Emmanuel Macron's state visit to the UK.
- It is believed the tapestry will be temporarily exchanged for Anglo-Saxon treasures from the Sutton Hoo ship burial. It is the first time it will have been on British soil in 900 years.
- The tapestry, created by English embroiderers, has been held in France since its completion and is currently housed in the Bayeux Museum, which is closing for two years for refurbishment.
- This loan concludes a plan first announced in 2018, following three previous unsuccessful British requests for the tapestry in 1931, 1953, and 1966.