ADVERTISEMENT For almost a thousand years, the Bayeux Tapestry has told the story of how a French duke defeated an English king in battle – and changed the course of European history.
Now, as France prepares to lend the 70-metre-long masterpiece to the UK, planning is underway behind the scenes to make the historic loan a reality.
The embroidered tapestry, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England and the Battle of Hastings in 1066, is due to go on display at the British Museum from September 2026 to July 2027. The loan itself has already been announced – but the complex work of moving and preserving one of Europe’s most fragile treasures is only just getting started.
When French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed the loan during his 2025 state visit to the UK – the first by an EU leader since Brexit – the symbolism wasn’t lost on either side of the Channel. After years of chilled relations, the move was seen as a gesture of renewed cultural warmth.
But it’s not just about politics. Historians widely believe the tapestry was actually stitched in England, using wool thread on linen. That makes its temporary return something of a “homecoming”, says Bayeux Museum curator Antoine Verney.
“For the British, the date – the only date – that all of them know is 1066,” Verney told AP.
It’s that sense of shared ownership – and shared story – that’s giving fresh momentum to this complex loan, which will see pieces from the British Museum that represent all four nations of the UK, including the Lewis chess pieces, travel to museums in Normandy.
Moving any 900-year-old textile is risky. Moving one made of nine joined pieces of linen, depicting 626 characters, 41 ships and 202 horses? Even more so.
“There is always a risk. The goal is for those risks to be as carefully calculated as possible,” said Verney.
The tapestry has survived invasions, revolutions and world wars. Napoleon displayed it in Paris in 1804, and the Allies rolled it out again in 1944 after liberating France. But even with that pedigree, its age is showing.
“The textile fibres are 900 years old. So they have naturally degraded simply due to age,” Verney said. “But at the same time, this is a work that has already travelled extensively and been handled a great deal.”
Details of how it will be moved remain under discussion. The transfer is being worked out between the British and French governments, with conservation teams weighing every option – from humidity control and vibration monitoring to custom-built containers.
Verney is confident the British Museum won’t take any unnecessary risks.
“How can one imagine, in my view, that the British Museum would risk damaging, through the exhibition, this work that is a major element of a shared heritage?” he said. “I don’t believe that the British could take risks that would endanger this major element of art history and of world heritage.”
While the tapestry is away, the Bayeux Museum will be undergoing its own transformation. The site is closing to visitors from 1 September this year for a major renovation costing tens of millions of euros. When it reopens in 2027, the star attraction will return to a state-of-the-art home, where it will be displayed on a custom-built, inclined 70-metre-long table.
Verney says the redesign will completely change how people view the work – not just as a medieval marvel, but as a piece of storytelling and design that still resonates.
At the British Museum, curators are already preparing for what’s expected to be one of the biggest exhibitions in its history. The tapestry will be shown in the museum’s Sainsbury Exhibition Gallery, with conservation staff on alert throughout the show.
The tapestry was likely commissioned by Bishop Odo, William the Conqueror’s half-brother, to mark the building of a new cathedral in Bayeux in 1077. For centuries, it lay mostly out of sight, stored in a chest. Today, it’s not just a rare survivor, but a powerful artefact of national identity for both France and Britain.
The images, stitched in dramatic sequence, have often been described as a kind of medieval comic strip. But they carry weight: themes of power, invasion, resistance and fate still resonate, even in a modern museum.
