See The Bayeux Tapestry Exhibition With Me! A Full Tour Of The British Museum's Blockbuster Show

I'm Jessica the Museum Guide and today it's finally here. The British Museum's Bayeux Tapestry exhibition has opened and I've got your first look at the whole thing. Come with me as I was amongst the first people to visit the Bayeux Tapestry at the British Museum on its first day open to the public. This marvel of Anglo-Saxon embroidery and propaganda is every bit as breathtaking and exciting as I hoped it would be. I'm first going to explain the tapestry in a nutshell and then I'll walk you through the experience of visiting the exhibition. I think I have a unique perspective because I have visited the tapestry at the Museum in Bayeux as well now as here at the British Museum and so I can really compare them. Ever since the exhibition was formally announced by Emmanuel Macron in July 2025, the country has been in biomania. At 2.50 in the morning on July 10, 2026, it was chaperoned from a secret location in northern France by a police guard and it travelled across the Channel on a ferry, landing on English soil for the first time in nearly a millennium. And look at the cool 70-metre tall light display that the British Museum projected on the side of the White Cliffs of Dover, thanking France for lending us the tapestry. But before we enter the exhibition, what is the Bayeux Tapestry? Well, it is a 70-metre long, that's 224 feet, linen-backed piece of embroidery. Yes, it isn't a tapestry at all, depicting the cataclysmic battle between two nobles vying for the English crown in 1066, after the death of Edward the Confessor. The tapestry details the diplomatic shenanigans and machinations in the year leading up to the epic Battle of Hastings, itself depicted in a flurry of arrows, dismembered body parts and tumbling horses. The whole thing is lined in a border that includes medieval fables, mythical creatures and little naked people. We think it was commissioned by William the Conqueror's brother, Odo, Bishop of Bayeux and later the Earl of Kent, and that he had it embroidered by English nuns. It has been in Bayeux Normandy ever since, but it was only really rediscovered in the 1720s. Now, this video today is not going to be a tour of what's going on in the tapestry itself. I might mention a few key scenes and bits and pieces, but if you want to actually understand what's going on and get a full history of the tapestry, you need to watch my last video that I released just a few days ago, which goes into a lot, and I mean a lot of detail. That also brings me to a Patreon video that I just released a few days ago. This one is all about the oddities and the naughty bits of the Bayeux tapestry, including its 93 penises, or is it 94? My patrons get access to an extra full-length video tour every single month, as well as invitations to my annual free in-person tour in either London or Canterbury, as well as lots of other interesting stuff. So I'd love to see you over on Patreon. Now, as for the Bayeux tapestry, UNESCO says it is a unique work. There is no other similar document to compare it with, and that's why it's predicted to be a record-breaking show. People from all over the country will be making their way to the British Museum, and tickets are in high demand. I waited 12 hours for members-only tickets, and then when the general public tickets went on sale, the online queue reached over 80,000 people, and they were sold out within 24 hours. People were calling it Glaston Bayeux. And FYI, more tickets are going on sale on October 21st for visiting slots January onwards. Now, if you're not lucky enough to get a ticket to come to see it, this will be hopefully a good substitution. But after a week of galas and sneak previews where celebrities such as Mick Jagger, not to mention the King of England, and oligarchs like Peter Thiel, had an early look, the day is finally here. Thursday, September 10th, was the opening day for the public, and I was there early. By the way, the British Museum is also lending some historic objects to France during this time, some pieces of the Louis Chessmen and the Sutton Hoo ship burial. I've covered those pieces in videos in the past, but let me know if you'd like a dedicated video focusing on them. I expected a long queue, so I was a bit cheeky. I booked the out-of-hours tour of the Egyptian Gallery and learned so much, but that meant I was in the museum for an hour before it opened. And then at 10am, I was already inside, and I didn't have to join the queue outside. Once my Egypt tour was complete, I then strolled over to the bio-tapestry queuing area, thinking I might even be the first person. I was expecting a balloon drop or something, but I was in the queue right at 10am, and I thought I'd be the first one, not by a mile. There was already a small clutch of people waiting. No worries, because they were actually so cool. Early medieval history re-enactors who annually re-enact the Battle of Hastings. Yes, so we are historical re-enactors. We've been asked to come here by the British Museum for the opening of the bio-tapestry exhibit today. We're all very, very excited, and some of us have what you would consider a particular connection to the tapestry, in that we recreate the Battle of Hastings every year at what they think is the actual battle site where it all happened, and there's a particular part in that scene at the battle where everything stops because Harold is dead, and his first wife Edith goes to find him on the battlefield. Christine over here has played that role before, and I play it currently. So we are very, very interested in seeing the tapestry today. Yes, we share a common husband across the years, I suppose. We were then ushered through in groups of 10 at a time, and then in a chamber it was explained for the first of many times that we would have 40 minutes for the entire experience, and that we must always keep moving. Once the doors opened, we entered a long hall with some of the tapestry's signature trees projected on the wall, and we were introduced to our bird guide. The bird led us to the first of a series of short animated scenes playing on the wall that helped to familiarize us with the plot and the series of events that were about to follow. Now, I'll have more to say about whether I thought that was sufficient a little bit later on. Now, along the way, we were also treated to some artifacts that are from the same time period as the tapestry. I must admit, I expected there to be a few more, or some in a separate gallery at the end, but the ones that were on display were very cool, mostly chosen from the British Museum's collection, but some from other collections as well. There are just three upstairs here. In the queuing area, though, there were these spears and a helmet of the type worn by Harold and his men, and then here, this was the first inside the actual exhibition. As we were introduced to Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, we then read a quote from Orderich Vitalis, the 12th century English historian, which explains that Odo liked very fine things. Stands to reason why he chose to have English women embroider the work, as their needlework, Opulus Anglicanum, was considered the finest in Europe. Now, here's an example of an object from Odo's era. This is a walrus ivory head of a tau cross crozier, a T-shaped cross named after the Greek letter T. Just look at this incredible detail, and at these, the monstrous heads on either end of the T. This dates to the early 11th century, so definitely contemporary to the events in the tapestry. Moving on, as the helpful birdie counts us down for when our cohort should move on, we learn about the handmade nature of the tapestry, and then we see this book, accompanied by a quote from William of Poitiers. England's women are highly distinguished in needlework and embroidering in gold thread. The nuns who created this were very influenced by illuminated manuscripts like these, and their work in turn influenced the monks who made the books. This page shows the building of the Tower of Babel. The next animation emphasized the human quality of the tapestry, with 627 people, most of them unnamed and lost to history, and it stressed the importance of the three main characters of the story, of course, King Edward, William, Duke of Normandy, and Harold Godwinson, Earl of Wessex. Next, we see the Charter of Edward the Confessor, in which he granted land in Wheatstead to the convent at Westminster. This is from 1060, wow. The accompanying text praised his height and his dignified demeanor. Looking down over this balcony, this was my first glimpse of the tapestry itself, and you can really get an idea of its scale. Above is this massive quote from the 12th century historian Henry of Huntingdon. In the year of Grace 1066, the Lord the Ruler carried out what he had long contemplated for the English. He delivered them for destruction to the violent and cunning Normans. Then we see some very cute illustrations about some of the highlights of the tapestry. 737 animals, 416 plants, 115 swords, 37 ships, 33 buildings, 23 trees, 11 thrones, 4 sea crossings and, I love this, one comet. Richard Wakeman, who is the assistant collection manager in the Anglo-Saxon section of the British Museum, actually just got a Halley's Comet tattoo from the tapestry. I'm thinking about this hand of God. Again, you'll regularly hear, Please keep moving along the tapestry, please do not stop, in both English and French. It's really cool the way that they've got it all timed. I don't feel like I'm being rushed at all, but I'm not done with the tapestry yet. It's true. I never felt rushed, but I definitely couldn't linger. More on that a bit later on. Now as we're heading down the stairs, we can see another big quote. This one from William of Jumiege. Edward, king of the English, lacking a successor, sent Harold, the greatest of all his realms earls, to William to make an oath of loyalty regarding his crown. Now the fun really begins. And remember, I went through the tapestry panel by panel, all 58 scenes in my last video, which I've just linked below, but I'm just going to show you a few moments from the tapestry along the way. I'm not going to explain them in this video though. You can see that the tapestry is laid flat in a case. This was one of its conditions of being lent, along with only being exposed to light for a certain number of hours each day. And despite a lot of worry of potential damage on the journey, only two small threads are reported to have been minorly damaged, and not even the French press is complaining about that. There are some signs here warning you not to lean on the glass for fear that the constant vibrations could harm the fragile fabric. I was worried that seeing it flat would diminish the experience, but it really didn't. In fact, I felt like I could get a lot closer than I could in Bayeux, I mean, just compare my footage where it was hung on the wall in Bayeux to the British Museum where it's flat in front of me, I felt like it was a lot more of a vivid and personal experience when seeing it lying flat. Of course, it does make the perspective seem a bit off. And this isn't how it was intended to be seen, but I do actually prefer it in Normandy. I didn't actually know as much about it as I do now. So seeing all of these fables, for instance, in the borders is amazing. By the way, we're never going to see it hung completely upright again. For conservation purposes, the Bayeux Tapestry Museum is building a brand new inclined support structure on which the tapestry will be displayed at a 60 degree angle. They say this will strike, quote, a perfect compromise. It will be upright enough for visitors to view like a panoramic film, but slanted enough to relieve gravity's physical pull on the fabric. Now, every 10 steps or so, there is an animated scene on the back wall with a simple caption. But there is no other signage, none. I really do think that you could use a pamphlet that walks you through the 58 numbered Latin tituli. Otherwise, it's so easy to completely miss the backstory and all these small details that really humanize the story. When I was in Normandy, the tapestry experience is accompanied by an audio guide that walks you through the story and makes sure you don't miss the fine details. I think that this is sorely lacking at the British Museum. In fact, I'm thinking of recording one myself that I'm going to offer for free or on a pay what you wish basis on my website because I think people could really use it. Obviously, the little displays on the back wall do show some key highlights. But since you can't really stop to stare at them or read them for long, I do fear that those who don't already know the story depicted before they go might miss out. This is definitely a curatorial choice to have quite a spartan exhibition by the British Museum. And certainly the tapestry is like enough on its own. I don't think we need bells and whistles, but just a little bit more information. So if you have tickets, make sure you really swat up, not just on the details of the battle or the diplomacy that preceded it, but also on the fables and the border and the funny bits and the silly bits. Now, because you don't get to stop and linger, in fact, there have even been articles detailing the complaints about Q-jumpers and shufflers. I don't really understand that because the staff do encourage you to jump ahead if you see a gap. So Q-jumping is not really a thing. You can skip ahead, but you're certainly not allowed to take a lot of time. And actually, over the weekend, according to the British Museum, there have been times when the, quote, demand exceeded capacity. See, remember, the tapestry can only be exposed to light for eight hours a day, according to the French agreement. And so when that eight hour mark happens, the lights go out and the exhibition closes and the people booked at the very end of the day aren't always getting inside. Hopefully they're going to figure that out. I will tell you, I was there on the first day and photos without flash and videos were allowed. But starting on day two, photography is no longer permitted. I'm assuming this has been done to keep the queue moving and stop the Bayeux selfies. In fact, one commenter on my recent video was calling it Le Shuffle, a play on Le Shuttle. I timed it on my video and going at the pace that they said, I was in front of the tapestry for 32 minutes. Now, I thought that I was in front of the Bayeux tapestry in Normandy for much longer from my recollection. But actually, I just looked at my footage and it was about the same. So I think that it just feels a lot more comprehensive when you have the audio guide. If you attend the exhibition, please, please let me know what you think in the comments below. Let's look at the last few artifacts displayed in the cases at the end of the tapestry. There are 400 coins here that feature either Harold or William, and these are from a hoard of 2584 coins discovered in Somerset that date between 1066 and 68. The label speculates that they were buried hastily for safekeeping during this unstable time. Here, beneath Orderick Vitalis again, talking about how from then on, the Anglo-Saxons never really trusted the Normans again. Now, a quote. Shortly after his coronation on Christmas Day, 1066, William addressed the residents of the city of London in English. I inform you that it is my will that your laws and customs be preserved as they were in King Edward's day. And wow, this is the charter he issued to the city in 1067. It's ink on parchment. And here's the wax seal. It belongs to the City of London Archives. And then we leave the exhibition by walking through these contemporary photos of Norman structures, such as the Tower of London, that continue to define England to this day. Finishing with this quote that really sent shivers down my spine because it's so powerful. But now, with the English and the Normans living alongside each other and intermarrying, today you could hardly tell who was English and who is Norman. And then a little sneak peek into the gift shop, because, of course, we'll have a look. OK, the gift shop's busier than the exhibition. Books, lovely handmade mugs, cushion covers, T-shirts, Christmas decorations, costumes, tote bags. Oh, and here's the book by the amazing Mia Hansen. So many of you brought her up in my last Bayeux Tapestry video. I should have talked about her more. She's currently recreating the Bayeux Tapestry stitch by stitch. Beer and wine. What's that Joe Tiger meme? I'm never going to financially recover from this. Even the cafe has gotten in on the action. It really is Bayeuxpalooza, and I love it. Well, I'm right outside of the exhibition right now, and here are my very first thoughts. It's really lovely. I like the way that it's laid flat. It's a nice feeling in the room. Did I love being asked to move along constantly, even though I wasn't stopped? No, don't get me wrong. I really, really love this exhibition. And seeing this ancient artifact back on British soil was very special. Heavy handed metaphor for insert controversial object here. I just think that an audio guide or booklet would make it much more meaningful for visitors. But wait, maybe that's just me. A tour guide extolling the virtues of tour guides. Well, that's the end of our tour today. I hope you've enjoyed seeing the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition at the British Museum. I'll see you the next time I'm at the museum.