Bayeux Tapestry damaged after transport, French minister offers reassurance

Two threads in the Bayeux Tapestry broke after the medieval artwork was transported to London, but France's culture minister said the damage had not altered its overall condition.

Catherine Pegard said French and British experts examined the more than 70-meter-long tapestry in detail after its arrival. The first inspection had found no visible changes, she said, but specialists later studied the work “centimetre by centimetre.”

“If we say that (the tapestry) arrived in London in the same condition in which it left Bayeux, I think we would not be far wrong,” Pegard said. The French newspaper La Croix had earlier reported “light” and “minor” tears in two places, citing the findings of experts.

The transport had prompted concern among specialists and advocates of France's historical heritage, who feared it could cause irreversible deterioration. French President Emmanuel Macron announced the loan to the British side in 2025 and described it as a symbol of close relations between Paris and London.

The Bayeux Tapestry is scheduled to go on display at the British Museum from September 10, 2026, to July 11, 2027. It will then return to France for conservation work that has been postponed several times. The embroidered narrative contains 58 scenes, 626 figures and 202 horses, and depicts the Norman conquest of the Anglo-Saxon world, culminating in the 1066 Battle of Hastings.

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If we say that (the tapestry) arrived in London in the same condition in which it left Bayeux, I think we would not be far wrong.