Bayeux Tapestry set to go on show at the British Museum

Published on 05/06/2026 - 14:57 GMT+2•Updated 18:14

The Bayeux Tapestry is preparing to leave France. A medieval masterpiece, this embroidery, which stretches for 70 metres and recounts the Norman conquest of England, will go on display at the British Museum in London from September 2026 to July 2027, to mark the 1,000th anniversary of William the Conqueror.

Usually on display in Bayeux, in northern France, the tapestry has been lent on the initiative of President Emmanuel Macron as part of celebrations of cross-Channel relations.

France's culture minister Catherine Pégard hailed "a political, cultural and symbolic act": "In a world that is fragmenting, that sometimes gives in to the temptation of turning in on itself, France remains true to what it is and opts for cultural outreach. We choose to assert that the great democracies and ancient nations of Europe are destined to enrich one another," she said.

According to tradition, it was Matilda of Flanders, wife of King William the Conqueror, who is said to have had the tapestry made during his military campaign.

Some experts are worried about the potential damage that could be suffered by this 70-metre-long embroidery, which already has more than 24,000 stains, 9,000 holes and 30 tears.

On Friday 5 June, the Council of State rejected a request from a heritage conservation association seeking the annulment of France's loan of the tapestry to the United Kingdom, ruling that it was "not competent to rule on the matter".

The fibres of this thousand-year-old work are extremely fragile. Every change in temperature and humidity levels can cause tears. A special case has been designed to ensure the work can be transported and to limit vibrations during the journey.

But Pégard said she found "particularly unfair the insinuations of incompetence that some have tried to spread".

"Nothing, absolutely nothing, has been left to chance, particularly when it comes to transporting this work," she said at a press conference in Paris last Wednesday, 3 June.

The Bayeux Tapestry to be "secretly transferred" to the British Museum

The Bayeux Tapestry will be secretly transported to Britain in a shockproof container so that it can be exhibited in London this year, the culture minister announced.

The tapestry will be taken, on a date that will remain confidential, to the British Museum in a specially designed case intended to cushion vibrations, the minister and ministry officials said.

According to a Culture Ministry study published on Wednesday, following a second test carried out in April, the case can absorb 96% of the force of a major impact throughout the journey.

The conclusions of this study effectively give the green light for the tapestry to be transported, even though "zero risk does not exist", the minister noted.

"Never in the history of transporting works of art have so many tests, so many protocols, so many risk checks been carried out for a single move," said Catherine Pégard, comparing the case to "a cradle for a newborn".

When it returns to France at the end of 2027, the Bayeux Tapestry will undergo a long-planned restoration that had been postponed.

Other medieval works will be temporarily exchanged between France and the United Kingdom, including a chess set and funerary treasures found at Sutton Hoo.

Video editor • Alexander Kazakevich

Additional sources • AFP