𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

This trip to the British Museum will be the first official joint engagement carried out together by King Charles and Andy Burnham since he became prime minister in July.

Burnham said the tapestry exhibition would be a chance to celebrate the “shared heritage” between the UK and France.

“The return of the Bayeux Tapestry to England is a landmark moment in the history of our two nations,” he said.

French government sources said the occasion will also be an opportunity for President Macron to get to know Burnham – with Macron being the first overseas leader to come to the UK since he took office.

Support for Ukraine, the conflict in the Middle East, and relations with the European Union will be among the topics for the two leaders as they bolster UK-French co-operation, say French sources.

The Bayeux Tapestry records a much earlier chapter in Anglo-French relations, when King William of Normandy fought King Harold for the throne of England.

Using dyed wool stitched onto linen, it shows the competing claims to the throne, the Normans sailing across the Channel and the decisive Battle of Hastings, in which Harold was killed, allowing William the Conqueror to become monarch.

The tapestry, believed to have been embroidered by English women for the new Norman rulers in the 1070s, includes 58 separate scenes, with 627 human figures, 737 animals, 37 ships and 23 trees, with a Latin narration accompanying the images.

As part of this cultural diplomatic exchange, the UK is lending France one of the British Museum’s prize exhibits – treasures from the Anglo-Saxon Sutton Hoo burial.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said: “Britain and France have a unique shared history and nothing symbolises it more than the Bayeux Tapestry.

She said “a generation of British children will remember it for the rest of their lives”.

There was strong demand for tickets to see the tapestry, with the exhibition already sold out until the end of 2026.

The next tickets, covering visits between January and March 2027, will be available from the British Museum from 21 October.