The Bayeux Tapestry will be insured for around £800m when it comes to the UK next year.
The Treasury will back the cover for the priceless artefact under the Government Indemnity Scheme – an alternative to commercial insurance that allows art and cultural objects to be shown in the UK.
Indirectly backed by the British taxpayer, the indemnity will cover it for damage or loss during its transfer from France and while it is on display.
The 70m fabric depiction of the 1066 Norman invasion and Battle of Hastings is not far off 1,000 years old.
It depicts the battle which saw William the Conqueror take the English throne from Harold Godwinson and become the first Norman king of England.
It’s understood the tapestry will be displayed behind a protective screen while on show. In Normandy, it’s been displayed behind a bespoke glass case.
The tapestry displayed behind a bespoke glass case in Normandy. Pic: AP
The Financial Times reported the Treasury had provisionally approved an estimated valuation of around £800m for the tapestry.
Most recently housed at the Bayeux Tapestry Museum in Normandy, it will be loaned to the British Museum next year while the French museum closes for renovation.
Its reopening is scheduled for October 2027.
Technicians in France digitalised the tapestry in 2020. Pic: AP
An HM Treasury spokesperson said: “The Government Indemnity Scheme is a long-standing scheme that allows museums and galleries to borrow high-value works for major exhibitions, increasing visitor numbers and providing public benefits.
“Without this cover, public museums and galleries would face a substantial commercial insurance premium, which would be significantly less cost-effective.”
The scheme is estimated to have saved UK museums and galleries £81m compared to commercial insurance.
It is part of a cultural exchange that will see the British Museum loan the Sutton Hoo collection, the Lewis Chessmen and other items to France in return for the tapestry.
Former chancellor and chair of the British Museum George Osborne has said he expects the tapestry exhibition to be “the blockbuster show of our generation”.
Meanwhile, in France, dissenting voices from the art and conservation fields have called on President Emmanuel Macron to abandon the project over concerns transportation would cause irreparable damage to the tapestry.
A detailed agreement between the British and French ministries sets out transfer plans, which include the use of a special crate and a test run with a facsimile of the tapestry ahead of transporting the real thing.
The UK has seen a spate of activist attacks on works of art and artefacts in recent years.
Incidents include protesters glueing themselves to the frame of John Constable’s The Hay Wain at the National Gallery in 2022, and tomato soup being thrown at Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers at the National Gallery in 2022 and again in 2024.
Earlier this month, crumble and custard was thrown at the State Crown display case in the Tower of London.
The Bayeux Tapestry will be on show at the British Museum from September 2026 to July 2027.
