King Charles turned to French as he welcomed Emmanuel Macron to London for a landmark meeting with one of history’s most famous treasures.
The King and Queen Camilla joined French President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron at the British Museum on Wednesday evening to view the Bayeux Tapestry, which is being displayed in Britain for the first time.
The royal couple and the French presidential pair were also joined by Prime Minister Andy Burnham and his wife, Marie-France van Heel, as they explored the extraordinary 70-metre-long embroidery together.
They were greeted at the museum by the Prime Minister and his wife, alongside George Osborne, chairman of the British Museum.
King Charles later opened speech in French, he said he could hardly express how delighted he and Camilla were to be at the museum after seeing the celebrated tapestry.
He went on to thank Macron and the French people for trusting Britain with what he described as an “unprecedented loan”, recalling that he and Camilla had discussed the possibility of bringing the historic work to Britain during their 2023 State Visit to France.
For the King, seeing that idea finally become reality was “a particular joy”.
Charles described the loan as the “best possible symbol” of the Entente amicale between Britain and France.
The 11th-century embroidery famously depicts the events surrounding 1066, including Harold’s oath to William, the Battle of Hastings and the Norman Conquest.
Yet Charles noted the irony that an object once associated with conflict between England and Normandy has now become a “precious symbol of trust” between the two countries.
In return for the loan, treasures from the British Museum will travel to France, with the Sutton Hoo treasures expected to go on display in Caen next year, while the Lewis Chessmen and Renaissance drawings are due to be shown in Rouen.
Charles said the collection of artefacts demonstrated how Britain and France have been “bound together for almost a millennium.”
The King ended his remarks on a more forward-looking note, returning to Macron’s earlier observation that “the story of the Tapestry is not finished.”
Speaking his last words in French, the monarch said each generation could add to the “fabric of our shared history.”
2026-09-03 00:27:00
