France will loan the 11th century Bayeux Tapestry to the British Museum for 10 months from September 2026, the UK government and Emmanuel Macron announced during the French president's state visit to Britain. Hailed as a historic cultural gesture, the loan will be made in exchange for ancient "treasures", mainly from one of England's most important archeological sites.
The 68-metre embroidered masterpiece chronicles the Norman conquest of England, depicting the famed 1066 Battle of Hastings when William the Conqueror crossed from France to defeat English forces.
The tapestry will be loaned to the British Museum for 10 months from 1 September, 2026 while the museum in the city of Bayeux, Normandy, which normally houses the work of art closes for two years for renovation.
The masterpiece, believed to have been created in England around 1077, will return to British soil for the first time in nearly 1,000 years.
Scholars, including Professor Levi Roach of the University of Exeter, suggest the tapestry was probably produced near Canterbury, making its return something of a “homecoming”. UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy called it “one of the most iconic pieces of art ever produced in the UK”.
Bayeux Tapestry to come to life in ambitious museum revamp
'Revitalising' the cultural relationship
In return, Britain will loan several significant archaeological treasures to France – notably the Sutton Hoo collection, the Lewis Chessmen and "other treasures".
The Sutton Hoo collection comprises relics discovered by archaeologists in 1939 at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk, where they unearthed an Anglo-Saxon cemetery.
The finds were part of a seventh century Anglo-Saxon ship burial, and offer remarkable insights into England from a time before the Norman Conquest.
The British artifacts will be exhibited in museums in Caen and Rouen during the Bayeux Museum’s closure.
British Museum director Nicholas Cullinan called the opportunity to display the tapestry “extraordinary”, while the UK government hailed the exchange as a diplomatic and cultural milestone.
President Macron was equally enthusiastic. "By its symbolic, unprecedented nature, and the priceless value of the loaned pieces, this unprecedented exchange signifies the desire to revitalise the cultural relationship between our two countries and the trust that exists between us today," he told Ouest France newspaper.
French officials cast doubt on Bayeux Tapestry loan to Britain
The tapestry has recently been restored for the first time since 1870, after Paris and London announced in 2018 that it would be loaned to Britain.
But the plan for the tapestry to cross the Channel for a mooted 2022 exhibition did not materialise, and there had been no recent update on when it would happen.
(with newswires)
