The Bayeux Tapestry has gone on display in the UK for the first time since it was created, with King Charles and French President Emmanuel Macron visiting the British Museum this week to view it ahead of its public opening on 10 September. The 230ft embroidered frieze, made by needlewomen in Kent nearly 1,000 years ago, depicts the events of 1066 and the Battle of Hastings, offering a rare visual record of a pivotal moment in English history, though historians have long disputed some of the episodes it portrays.

The tapestry features 626 figures (only six of them women), 190 horses, 37 ships and 33 buildings, tracing the story from the death of Edward the Confessor and Harold Godwinson's contested coronation through to William of Normandy's invasion preparations. William assembled a fleet of 700 longships to transport 7,000 men and 2,000 horses, while Harold secured northern loyalty by marrying Edith, sister of the earls Edwin and Morcar, before facing rival claims from Norway's King Harald Hardrada and William, who claimed Harold had sworn an oath supporting his succession.