The return of the Bayeux Tapestry to Britain reportedly turned into a diplomatic muddle when French police at Calais banned British Museum officials, French politicians and journalists from travelling on the freight train carrying the tapestry through the Channel Tunnel, despite two prior rehearsal border crossings. The 11th-century embroidery, on loan to the British Museum for a sold-out year-long exhibition, made the journey alone overnight while VIPs including chairman George Osborne and director Nick Cullinan were left behind after the last-minute change of plan.

The tapestry left Bayeux at 6.15pm on 9 July, escorted by French security to the Eurotunnel terminal at Coquelles, before travelling by LeShuttle and being handed to UK authorities in Folkestone, arriving at the British Museum almost nine hours after departure. It depicts events surrounding William the Conqueror's 1066 invasion of England and the defeat of King Harold, and although long associated with the Normandy town, is thought to have been made in England in the 1070s. In exchange for the loan, British treasures including items from Sutton Hoo and the Lewis chessmen will travel to France, though meticulous logistical planning failed to anticipate the last-minute bureaucratic hitch.