The Bayeux Tapestry has gone on public display in the UK for the first time since it was created nearly 1,000 years ago.
The 70-metre (230ft) 11th Century artwork opened to visitors at the British Museum in London on Thursday after arriving from Normandy, France.
It was originally embroidered in England but has been kept in France for centuries. The tapestry depicts events leading to the Norman conquest of England and the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
The exhibition opened at 10:00 BST, with shield-carrying re-enactors dressed in period costumes waiting outside the museum.
For visitors who made it inside, seeing the historic artwork up close was an emotional experience.
Adrian Harris, one of the first members of the public to see it, described the experience as a “real privilege.”
“I’m not a very emotive or expressive person but I was absolutely blown away by it,” he told BBC News.
Harris said he was particularly struck when he first saw the tapestry from the top of the stairs, where he had an uninterrupted view of its full length.
Other visitors were equally impressed by its size, colours and detail.
Cecilia Zanini said she was amazed by the vibrancy of the colours and the detail in the embroidered figures.
“I was amazed by the vibrancy of the colours. The detail of the characters,” she said. “It gave both of us goosebumps.”
Her husband, Fabio Zanini, said he kept looking from side to side to take in the scenes, particularly the Norman boats and cavalry.
“It feels like you’re in the battlefield,” he said, praising the “real sense of movement” in the embroidery.
“It really allowed you to go back to 1066.”
Serena Smith arrived for her 11:30 BST viewing slot after securing a ticket despite being placed 4,000th in the queue when she bought it.
She arrived with 24 pages of annotated notes and said she was looking forward to identifying the Normans from their hairstyles and examining the ships used to cross the Channel.
The exhibition has also attracted criticism over its cost and location.
Angie, from Leeds, said the event was “out of reach for many, many families in the north” because visitors have to factor in travel and food costs alongside the museum tickets.
“London-only cultural events alienate many families north of Watford.”
Another visitor, Hadyn Blakeston, criticised the long queues inside the exhibition.
He said moving along the display felt like being on a “conveyor belt.”
“It’s one long queue,” he said. “I know we’re supposed to love queuing, but it was extreme queuing.”
The tapestry was transported from Bayeux in Normandy to London in July in a specially designed protective case.
The overnight journey was carried out to protect the fragile artwork from damage, including the impact of potholes.
The journey echoed the route taken across the Channel by William of Normandy and his army before the Norman conquest.
The tapestry contains 58 scenes depicting events before, during and after the Battle of Hastings.
It has influenced artists since the Middle Ages and is regarded as one of the most important surviving visual records of the Norman conquest.
Michael Lewis, one of the exhibition’s four curators, described the tapestry as a powerful visual account of one of the most important events in English history.
“1066 is, of course, one of the most important events in English history, and the tapestry is the ultimate reflection of that in terms of a visual narrative,” he told the Press.
“Some people see it as akin to a graphic novel or a cartoon or something like that, it’s immediately recognisable.”
Lewis also described France’s decision to lend the artwork to the UK as “an enormous act of diplomacy.”
The loan has been almost 100 years in the making and comes despite opposition in France to the tapestry being moved.
France’s Culture Minister recently said the artwork arrived in Britain in a “wonderful state”.
Tickets for the exhibition are sold out until the next release on 21 October.
The Bayeux Tapestry will remain on display at the British Museum until 11 July 2027.
Erizia Rubyjeana
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