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The British government’s Treasury department is preparing to insure the Bayeux Tapestry for approximately £800 million while it is lent to the British Museum next year. This remarkable embroidery, which measures 70 meters in length and illustrates the Battle of Hastings in 1066, will be transported from France to London under an agreement between the two governments.
Coverage for the tapestry’s transportation, storage, and exhibition will be provided through the Government Indemnity Scheme (GIS). This scheme offers indemnity insurance, which protects against potential loss or damage to valuable cultural items on loan. According to a Treasury spokesperson, the GIS prevents public museums and galleries from needing to pay high commercial insurance premiums, offering a more cost-effective solution.
Some concerns have been raised regarding the safety of moving the nearly millennium-old tapestry, with French art experts expressing worries about its fragile condition, although French officials have refuted those claims. Currently, the Treasury has secured an initial valuation for the insurance coverage, which is awaiting final approval before the loan can be fully confirmed. Reports from the Financial Times suggest the final valuation will be near £800 million, a figure that the Treasury has neither confirmed nor disputed when contacted by the BBC.
The Bayeux Tapestry is scheduled to be exhibited in the Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery at the British Museum from September next year until July 2027, while its permanent home, the Bayeux Museum in France, undergoes renovations. The tapestry intricately portrays 58 scenes featuring 626 characters and 202 horses, chronicling the historical period when William the Conqueror seized the English crown from Harold Godwinson, becoming the first Norman king of England. Under the government’s indemnity scheme, valuable art and cultural artifacts can be publicly displayed in the UK without museums facing prohibitive insurance costs. Established in 1980, this programme has supported many significant loans, including Vincent van Gogh’s 1888 painting *The Bedroom* to the National Gallery, and is estimated to save galleries about £81 million annually compared to commercial insurance expenses. In return for lending the Bayeux Tapestry, the British Museum will send items to France, such as Anglo-Saxon artifacts from the 7th century found at Sutton Hoo and the 12th-century Lewis chess pieces
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