The Bayeux Tapestry has arrived in the UK for the first time in nearly 1,000 years, since it is believed to have been created in England shortly after the events it depicts. It was driven into a loading bay at the British Museum at 02:50, having been escorted from a secret location in northern France under police guard, and will go on public display in September. The 70-metre-long, 11th-Century embroidery portrays the build-up to the Norman Conquest of 1066 in 58 scenes, and its loan is seen as a landmark cultural moment for both nations.

The nine-month loan was agreed last year between President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, and comes while the tapestry's home museum in Bayeux, Normandy, is closed for renovation; in return, the British Museum is lending French institutions treasures including items from the Sutton Hoo hoard and the Lewis chess pieces. To protect the fragile work, it was kept on a folding stand inside a climate-controlled crate placed within an outer cage fitted with metal springs as shock absorbers, and crossed the Channel via Eurotunnel after two practice runs with a textile copy. The move has drawn criticism in France, where a petition branded it a "heritage crime" and the late artist David Hockney argued the piece was too precious to risk, though officials including UK envoy Peter Ricketts insist every possible precaution has been taken.