King Charles and Queen Camilla Join French President Macron for Historic Bayeux Tapestry Viewing

On Wednesday, Britain's King Charles III and Queen Camilla were joined by French President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron at the British Museum in London for a private tour of the Bayeux Tapestry. The Macrons are on a two-day visit to the United Kingdom to foster closer ties between the two European countries. The 11th-century embroidery, currently on loan to Britain from France, arrived in the UK in July after an absence of more than 900 years. Created 960 years ago, it depicts the events leading up to the Battle of Hastings in 1066, which saw William of Normandy seize the throne from Harold Godwinson, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, marking one of the great turning points in English history. Also joining the two couples on the tour of the blockbuster exhibition, which opens to the public next week, were recently appointed British prime minister Andy Burnham and his wife, Marie-France van Heel. The dignitaries were led along the length of the tapestry, as curators pointed out the key moments depicted within it, after which the group gathered in the museum's glass-topped Great Court. In a speech at the British Museum, King Charles noted that 'The Bayeux Tapestry tells a story familiar to most people in this country … a moment that changed the course of these islands forever.' Under a deal struck with the French government, the 70-metre Tapestry has been loaned to the British Museum and brought to English soil for the first time since it was made. The exhibition opens to the public on September 10 and will run until July next year.