Unstitching the 1,000-Year-Old Story of the Bayeux Tapestry

The Bayeux Tapestry—an embroidered account of William of Normandy’s 1066 victory—has returned to Britain for a diplomatic-minded showing at the British Museum. Stitched in the 1070s and measuring nearly 230 feet, the textile recounts the Norman Conquest, culminating in the Battle of Hastings on Oct. 14, 1066, and William’s coronation by Christmas at Westminster Abbey. King Charles III inaugurated the exhibition alongside France’s President Emmanuel Macron, who arranged the loan as part of a post-Brexit détente. The first tranche of nearly $45 tickets sold out in under a day.