The Bayeux Tapestry has arrived in London after travelling through Kent under a police escort as it returned to England for the first time in almost 1,000 years.
The 70m cloth – which tells the story of the Norman Conquest of England through embroidered scenes – was transported overnight from the Channel Tunnel in Folkestone to the British Museum.
Kent Police joined the Metropolitan Police Service to help escort the Bayeux Tapestry. Pictures: The British Museum
Officers from Kent Police and the Metropolitan Police Service escorted the 11th-century masterpiece after it arrived from France.
The loan has been described as “one of the most significant international museum loans ever undertaken between the two countries”.
Dr Nicholas Cullinan, director of the British Museum, 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.”
Over the past year, the museum has worked alongside colleagues from the Ministry of Culture, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and specialist transport company Hizkia to carefully plan the tapestry’s journey.
French president Emmanuel Macron has also said the loan demonstrates what the two countries “can achieve when they join forces”.
The cloth will be on show in London from September to July 2027. Picture: The British Museum
Speaking to The Times, he explained how the loan was a “tangible expression of long-standing friendship and a sign of our shared desire to see France and the UK build their future together”.
The Bayeux Tapestry depicts the 1066 Norman invasion and the Battle of Hastings, which saw William the Conqueror defeat King Harold and become the first Norman king of England.
About 7.5 million people are expected to see the tapestry when it goes on display in London from September until July 2027.
The British Museum says demand for the “once-in-a-generation exhibition has already been unprecedented”.
When general admission tickets went on sale last week, the museum recorded the biggest single day of ticket sales in its history, generating more than £2.4 million in the first 24 hours.
Over the coming weeks, the tapestry will undergo detailed condition checks before being carefully installed inside a custom-built showcase ahead of the exhibition opening.
The Bayeux Tapestry has been displayed at the Bayeux Tapestry Museum in Normandy since 1983 and will return there once the museum reopens following a major renovation.