Bayeux Tapestry to be loaned to Britain in 2022: May

SANDHURST: The Bayeux Tapestry will return to British shores in 2022, Prime Minister Theresa May announced Thursday at a summit with French President Emmanuel Macron.

France has agreed to loan to Britain the fragile artwork depicting the 1066 Norman conquest of England.

"Our shared history is reflected in the loan of the Bayeux Tapestry to the UK in 2022; the first time it will be on British soil in more than 900 years," May said at a press conference with Macron at the Sandhurst elite military academy in Berkshire, southwest of London.

"The loan of the tapestry will form part of a wider cultural exchange taking place between Britain and France over the next four years.

"I am honoured at the loan of such a precious piece of our shared history which yet again underscores the closeness of the UK-France relationship."

Some 70 metres (230 feet) long, the famous embroidery, which dates from around 1077, depicts the Battle of Hastings when William the Conqueror, the duke of Normandy, defeated English forces in southern England.

The loan is taking place while its home at the Bayeux Museum in northern France undergoes refurbishment.

No decision has been taken on where to display the Bayeux Tapestry in the Britain.