The King, speaking inside the Great Court of the British Museum, said the opponents depicted in the tapestry – Normans and Anglo-Saxons – would have been delighted to see this togetherness between France and the UK – “two great nations, which share such fundamental values”.

“The tapestry’s story is one of ambition and uncertainty, of oaths and journeys, of ships, councils, kings, comets and consequences,” said the King.

“Yet it is not merely an English story, nor only a Norman one. Indeed, from the moment of its creation, it may have brought together our two peoples,” he said, weaving in the historic importance of the artwork.

Burnham joked about his own new role as prime minister – saying the tapestry “showed a new leader emerging from a northern territory and travelling to the south of England”.

Describing the tapestry as a “masterpiece”, President Macron said a loan had first been proposed in the 1930s, but he was delighted that the idea had come to fruition.

He spoke of the exhibition in London as an example of how “we are united” and a “reminder of what our countries can do if they join forces”, addressing an audience including historian Dame Mary Beard and former prime minister Theresa May.

The 70m (230ft) tapestry, originally embroidered in England but kept for centuries in France, tells the story of the Norman Conquest and the Battle of Hastings in 1066.