\n<\/p>\n
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”.<\/p>\n
“The tapestry’s story is one of ambition and uncertainty, of oaths and journeys, of ships, councils, kings, comets and consequences,” said the King.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
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”.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n