Bayeux Tapestry unveiled to UK public for first time at British Museum

The Bayeux Tapestry has gone on public display in the UK for the first time since it was created nearly 1,000 years ago.

It was originally embroidered in England but kept for centuries in France, and tells the story of the Norman conquest of England and the Battle of Hastings in 1066.

The 70m (230ft)-long 11th Century tapestry is being loaned to the British Museum while its usual home in Normandy, France undergoes renovation.

Doors at the museum opened at 10:00 BST, with shield-wielding re-enactors in costumes from the era waiting outside.

It's a loan almost 100 years in the making, but despite some opposition in France to it being moved, the French Culture minister recently said it arrived in a "wonderful state".

History buffs arrived early en masse to catch a glimpse of the opening.

Adrian Harris told BBC News that it was a "real privilege" to be one of the first members of the public to see the tapestry in England.

"I'm not a very emotive or expressive person but I was absolutely blown away by it," he said, moments after seeing the tapestry.

He described how he was taken aback when he had an uninterrupted view of it at the top of stairs at the start of the exhibition.

Serena Smith took a tour inside the museum before her slot at 11:30 BST.

When she bought her ticket, she was 4,000th in the queue, despite clicking on a link moments after receiving an email from the British Museum.

"I want you to write that I was first in the queue [today]," she stressed.

Armed with 24 pages of annotated notes, she said she was looking forward to trying to recognise the Normans from their round haircuts, and seeing their boats on board the ships they use to reach the English shores.

Cecilia and Fabio Zanini were completely wowed by the scale of the Bayeux Tapestry.

"I was amazed by the vibrancy of the colours. The detail of the characters," Cecilia said. "It gave both of us goosebumps."

Fabio said he was constantly looking left and right to see all the action and he was surprised by the scale of the tapestry, particularly the number of Norman boats and cavalry.

"It feels like you're in the battlefield," he added, praising the "real sense of movement" in the embroidery.

"It really allowed you to go back to 1066."

But others told the BBC the event was "out of reach" because of its cost and London location.

Angie in Leeds said the "historic event" was "out of reach for many, many families in the north" when you factor in the cost of train tickets and food costs on top of the museum tickets themselves.

"London-only cultural events alienate many families north of Watford," she added.

Another man spoke of the "extreme queuing" required to view the exhibit. Hadyn Blakeston said he felt like he was on a "conveyor belt" while moving along the tapestry.

"It's one long queue," he said. "I know we're supposed to love queuing, but it was extreme queuing."

The tapestry has been inspiring artists since the Middle Ages.

Its July journey from Bayeaux in Normandy to central London - similar to that made across the channel by William of Normandy with his army - was made in the dead of night in a special protective case, to avoid pothole damage, as the BBC's Culture Editor Katie Razzall reported.

The artwork depicts in 58 scenes events leading up to the Battle of Hastings and Norman Conquest of England in 1066.

Razzall said she had been preparing for the exhibition for months.

"I've read books and studied photographs of the tapestry. I was even lucky enough to witness the carefully choreographed unfurling from its case a few days after its arrival from France.

"But nothing prepared me for how I felt when I looked down on it for the first time, stretching the full length of the gallery," she added.

Michael Lewis, one of the four curators for the exhibition, told the Press Association: "1066 is, of course, one of the most important events in English history, and the tapestry is the ultimate reflection of that in terms of a visual narrative.

"Some people see it as akin to a graphic novel or a cartoon or something like that, it's immediately recognisable."

He described France allowing it to come to the UK and be displayed at the British Museum as "an enormous act of diplomacy".

Tickets to the exhibition are sold out until the next release on 21 October.

The Bayeux Tapestry is at the British Museum until 11 July 2027.