"Breathtaking": Lord Ricketts reviews 'The Bayeux Tapestry' at the British Museum
The Bayeux Tapestry | Image by: AP Photo / Kin Cheung / Alamy
4 min read
Take one very precious 70-metre-long tapestry on a 348-mile journey for the chance to travel back nearly a thousand years in time. Some experiences surpass expectations – this show is definitely one of them
I still can’t quite believe that it’s here. I have had the great privilege of being the UK government special envoy for the loan of the Bayeux Tapestry and have been involved in the intricate negotiations with the French side to transport and exhibit a fragile and very precious 950 year-old embroidery safely and securely. Over recent weeks, I have been in the room accompanying VIP visitors. But this week I went as a visitor, to see it as a million others will in the next 10 months.
The exhibition has been carefully thought out by the British Museum professionals. As you approach the Sainsbury Gallery, you walk back in time. You are first confronted with a group of deadly looking weapons of the period. As the light level lowers, you go up the stairs to a mezzanine with panels on the history. Then, a breathtaking bird’s eye view of the tapestry, bringing home its full 70 metre scale.
The Bayeux Tapestry at the British Museum | Image by: Associated Press / Alamy
Once down the stairs, I found it intensely moving to be up close to this astonishing window onto life in the 11th century. And I mean up close. One of the great achievements of the exhibition is the showcase. Made of the most high-tech glass, it gives robust protection to the tapestry while allowing visitors to get within a few inches of it. The colours glow in the subdued light. The details are arrestingly clear: the facial expressions, the subtle differentiation in clothes and hairstyles, food being cooked and castles and boats being built, the dynamic movement of the horses urging the action forward and, later, the grizzly scenes of fighting and dying.
The colours glow in the subdued light. The details are arrestingly clear
The wealth of detail presents its own problem. If you start by studying every scene, you won’t get to the end in the 40 minutes allocated for each visitor and those behind you will soon get restless. Flow control is going to be an issue. It’s therefore a good idea to do some homework beforehand and decide which scenes you want to focus in on. I recommend The Story of the Bayeux Tapestry by the British Museum curator Michael Lewis and historian Dave Musgrove.
The tapestry can be enjoyed as a sweeping narrative of knightly derring-do. But there is a lot of politics as well, turning on Duke William’s justification for invading England and wresting the crown from Harold. My favourite scene (number 23) is a moment of high diplomacy. Before the conquest, Harold is in France campaigning alongside William in Bayeux. With William watching intently, Harold stretches out awkwardly, touching two reliquaries.
Harold makes a 'sacred oath' to William | Image by: Image by: Pictorial Press / Alamy
The tapestry tells us he is making a sacred oath to William. Was it to support William’s claim to the English throne? If so, Harold perjured himself with his coronation on King Edward’s death. The succession was still a touchy subject in England in the late 1060s, when the ladies of Canterbury probably embroidered this masterpiece. So the tapestry is diplomatically silent.
As an exercise in cultural diplomacy, this loan has already created powerful moments of UK-French unity such as the opening ceremony with the King, President Macron and Prime Minister. The tapestry is having wider impact than any show since Tutankhamun in the 1970s – not surprisingly since 1066 is central to our national story. Its visual cartoon-like language is a gift to social media and appeals directly to young people. The British Museum have an ambitious schools outreach programme and dedicated time for school groups from Britain and France.
Some experiences surpass expectations. This show is definitely one of those. More tickets will be on sale soon. Do go. It may be a thousand years before you get another chance.
Lord Ricketts is a crossbench peer and former UK ambassador to France
The Bayeux Tapestry
Curated by: Professor Michael Lewis
Venue: British Museum – 10 September 2026 – 11 July 2027
