The Bayeux Tapestry suffered a minor tear during its transfer from France to the British Museum for its first UK exhibition in nearly 1,000 years, France's culture minister Catherine Pegard has confirmed. Two threads broke across the 70-metre tapestry during the journey, though experts who examined it centimetre by centimetre concluded it remains "in the same state" as when it left Bayeux. The revelation follows a visit to the exhibition by King Charles III and French President Emmanuel Macron this week, and comes just before the show opens to the public.

The tapestry, which depicts the 1066 Battle of Hastings and is believed to have been made in England before being taken to Bayeux, was moved under tight security in a climate-controlled case inside a shock-absorbing cradle, travelling 350 miles over 11 hours via the Channel Tunnel. The UK government has provided insurance cover of around £800 million against major damage, and the transfer followed over a year of planning, including two test runs with a full-scale replica. The exhibition runs at the British Museum from next week until July next year, marking the tapestry's first departure from France since its creation and its first move in more than 40 years.