King Charles Hails Bayeux Tapestry's Arrival at British Museum

King Charles, President Macron and PM Andy Burnham gathered at the British Museum to preview the Bayeux Tapestry ahead of its public opening.

King Charles has welcomed the arrival of the Bayeux Tapestry at the British Museum, describing the loan of the medieval embroidery as "unprecedented" and the "best possible symbol" of the bond between Britain and France. He viewed the work in London on Wednesday, a week before it opens to the public.

Speaking in both French and English, the King addressed a gathering that included President Emmanuel Macron of France and Prime Minister Andy Burnham. He noted his own personal link to the artwork, telling guests he is a direct descendant of William, Duke of Normandy, whose forces defeated King Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The tapestry, he said, records the start of what he considers the French chapter of his family's presence in the British Isles.

The embroidery stretches 70m (230ft) and recounts the Norman Conquest. Though stitched in England, it has been held in France for centuries. Its journey to London marks the first time such a loan has been arranged, after the idea was floated decades earlier.

Cross-Channel jokes over 1066

The historic rivalry at the heart of the story gave the occasion a lighter edge. Standing at the point where the tapestry ends, Macron remarked on the "happy end, we're here." Burnham offered a playful counter, suggesting the English makers "couldn't bear to show the end" because it was "too difficult" to depict their defeat.

Burnham also drew a comparison to his own recent rise, noting that the tapestry portrayed "a new leader emerging from a northern territory and travelling to the south of England."

Addressing the room from the museum's Great Court, the King reflected on the enemies shown in the cloth. The Normans and Anglo-Saxons who once clashed, he said, would have been pleased to witness the current friendship between the two countries, which he called "two great nations, which share such fundamental values."

He described the narrative woven into the fabric as one "of ambition and uncertainty, of oaths and journeys, of ships, councils, kings, comets and consequences." The King argued that the piece belongs to neither nation alone. From the moment it was made, he suggested, it may have drawn the English and Norman peoples together rather than dividing them.

A loan proposed in the 1930s

Macron called the tapestry a "masterpiece" and said the possibility of bringing it to Britain had first been raised back in the 1930s. He expressed satisfaction that the long-held plan had finally been realised. For the president, the London display stood as proof that the countries "are united" and a "reminder of what our countries can do if they join forces."

Among those in the audience were the historian Dame Mary Beard and the former prime minister Theresa May.

The King and Queen toured the exhibition alongside Macron and his wife Brigitte, and Burnham with his wife Marie-France van Heel. The group examined the centuries-old embroidery in near darkness, the fabric set within a long, illuminated glass case designed to protect and highlight the delicate stitching.

The tapestry opens to the public at the British Museum next week.

Bayeux Tapestry, British Museum, King Charles, Emmanuel Macron, Andy Burnham, Battle of Hastings, Norman Conquest, UK France exhibition