Haha. The Bayeux Tapestry – which I saw in France in my wanderings long ago. The tapestry is actually woven cloth and is 225 feet long.
Charles called the loan a symbol of trust and an ‘entente amicale.’ After Brexit, tariff rows and years of Channel arguments, Britain and France have apparently decided the safest subject is 1066, when the disagreement was at least settled on schedule.
The loan is genuinely extraordinary. The tapestry is roughly 950 years old and has spent most of its known history in France. It tells the story surrounding William the Conqueror’s invasion of England and the Battle of Hastings, with hundreds of figures, horses, ships and the sort of political messaging that proves propaganda did not need Wi-Fi. The British Museum exhibition is part of a cultural exchange in which Britain will send treasures including Sutton Hoo objects and Lewis chess pieces to France. Macron noted that Britain had been asking for the tapestry since 1931. Ninety-five years later, the answer was finally yes. Diplomacy rewards patience, particularly when the item cannot fit in anyone’s carry-on.
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The timing helps. Britain and France are trying to manage current disagreements over migration, defense and the broader relationship between the UK and Europe. Those problems do not become easier because an embroidered Norman is pointing a spear at an Anglo-Saxon. But cultural diplomacy gives leaders a room in which they can talk about centuries rather than tomorrow morning. It lowers the temperature. Macron gets to lend something France treasures. Charles gets to praise a relationship older than either modern state. Everyone gets photographed beside history instead of beside another small-boats chart.
