UK Treasury to Insure Bayeux Tapestry for £800m During British Museum Loan

The UK Treasury is set to insure the historic Bayeux Tapestry for an estimated £800m while it is on loan to the British Museum from September 2026 to July 2027. The 70-meter-long 11th-century embroidery, depicting the 1066 Battle of Hastings, will travel from France to London as part of a cultural exchange agreement between the UK and French governments. Coverage will be provided under the Government Indemnity Scheme (GIS), which has been protecting high-value cultural artifacts since 1980. The tapestry will be displayed in the British Museum's Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery while its home, the Bayeux Museum in France, undergoes renovations. In exchange, the British Museum will loan Anglo-Saxon artifacts from Sutton Hoo and the 12th-century Lewis chess pieces to France. The GIS scheme, which saves museums an estimated £81m annually compared to commercial insurance, has previously protected works including Van Gogh's The Bedroom.