Is it a stitch-up? Fears Macron's offer to lend the Bayeux Tapestry to Britain could fall flat after TWO earlier attempts to get the iconic artwork across the Channel failed
The tapestry, which dates from around 1077, depicts the story of William the Conqueror and the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and is displayed in Bayeux, Normandy.
But two previous attempts to see the tapestry brought to Britain have failed, raising questions over whether it will ever make it across the English Channel.
This close up of the Bayeux tapestry shows Harold (left) being struck by an arrow to the eye
The failed efforts to bring it over were during the Queen's coronation in 1953 and to mark the 900th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings in 1966.
And today an official in Mr Macron's office said the loan is still 'under consideration', with the tapestry not travelling before 2020 because of required restoration work.
The official said: 'This loan is under consideration, because there will be several months of restoration work at the Museum of Bayeux.
'It will not be before 2020 because it is an extremely fragile cultural treasure which will be subject to major restoration work before being transported anywhere.'
Preparations are under way to move the fabric across the Channel in a bid to show the strength of the British-French relationship in the wake of the Brexit vote.
French President Mr Macron is expected to make the announcement of the momentous loan tomorrow when he meets with Theresa May at Sandhurst.
Dr Levi Roach, medieval historian at the University of Exeter, said it would take time for conservationists to ensure the work could be moved and displayed safely.
He told MailOnline: 'I suspect one of the things that's being raised now, beyond its iconic status, is the issue of preservation and whether this can be moved safely.
The length of the loan - and the location of its display - has not been decided. Pictured: A section of the tapestry showing the Escort of Count Guy of Ponthieu (who captured Duke Harold)
President Macron is expected to make the announcement of the momentous loan on Thursday when he meets with Theresa May at Sandhurst. Pictured: The tapestry in Bayeux
'It's not going to be something that you'll want to completely roll up, so there'll need to be a great deal of care in how it will be packaged, so as not to damage the fabric.'
Dr Roach added: 'This has not been moved since 1944, and we're increasingly aware of the damage that can be done to such artefacts.'
He said the temperature, light exposure and air humidity for its transport and display would be investigated before the tapestry can be moved.
Returning the 230ft-long tapestry to the UK could allow British historians to finally study the back of the work.
It depicts events leading up to the Norman conquest of England by William the Conqueror against Harold, Earl of Wessex, and culminates in the Battle of Hastings.
The famous arrow-in-the-eye scene apparently depicting the death of Harold at Hastings in 1066 is believed to have been added in Victorian times.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain, scholar Maggie Kneen said until now, experts have only been provided with footage and photographs of the back of the piece.
She said: 'When you get to know it as I have been able to do you realise what a treasure house of information it is about what was going on at the time.
'It was made in Canterbury, it's more or less been proven by art historical means - it's such a marvellous piece of news. It's just going to be so important for children to learn from it.'
How the tapestry is stitched with ten shades of woolen yarn
Although called a tapestry, it is an embroidery stitched in nine different panels.
The first record of the piece is in Bayeux Cathedral's inventory of treasures in 1476, but it is believed it was stitched in England by nuns at St Augustine's Abbey.
'The stitching is as beautiful on the back as it is on the front,' Ms Kneen said. 'From what I believe, the actual arrow was a Victorian addition.
'The actual arrow that was stitched on to the tapestry was added on later on. Really to see the back of it rather than a CD of images would be tremendous for scholars.'
Ironically, it is considered most likely the historic cloth was created in England after being commissioned by Bishop Odo of Bayeux.
Odo was the half-brother of William the Conqueror - leader of the Norman imperialists - and is thought to have requested the work in the 1070s.
Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat, chair of the foreign affairs committee, told BBC radio: 'This is huge.
'This is an extraordinary diplomatic outreach by the president of France and a fantastic gesture of goodwill from one of our nearest and closest allies.
'It's a fantastic opportunity for the British people to see one of the seminal works in our national history.'
The tapestry is currently on display in a darkened room in the Bayeux Museum in Normandy.
Napoleon put it on display in Paris in 1804 and it was briefly exhibited at the city's Louvre in 1944.
The Times reported that tests would need to be carried out to make sure the tapestry could be moved without being damaged.
The location for the display in Britain is not thought to have been decided, but staff at the British Museum are hopeful it might be chosen.
What does the tapestry show?
The director of the Bayeux Museum (pictured) in Normandy - where the tapestry has been through most of its history, barring two displays in Paris - confirmed the move
After showing Halley's Comet - a bad Medieval omen - William is shown receiving the news and ordering the construction of a fleet to invade England. Pictured: The fleet en route to England
Hartwig Fischer, director of the museum, said: 'This would be a major loan, probably the most significant ever from France to the UK.
'It is a gesture of extraordinary generosity and proof of the deep ties that link our countries.
'The Bayeux Tapestry is of huge importance, as it recounts a crucial moment in British and French history, 1066.
'We would be honoured and delighted to display it at the British Museum, the UK's most visited and internationally respected institution.
'Here it would be seen by the widest UK and international audience in the context of a museum of world cultures.'
The French President will hold talks with Mrs May at the UK-France summit, which a spokesman said would highlight cross-Channel co-operation on issues such as climate change, air pollution, cyber threats and the human genome.
The final segments of the tapestry are missing, but they are thought to have depicted the invaders' celebratory feast and William's coronation. Pictured: A cart carrying wine and other supplies for William's England-bound ships
Dr Alex Woolf, from the school of history at the University of St Andrews, said: 'The Bayeux Tapestry was stitched by Englishwomen within a few years of the Norman conquest at the behest of either Queen Edith, the widow of Edward the Confessor, or more likely, William the Conqueror's brother Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, who had been made Earl of Kent after the Conquest.
'It is far and away the largest and most famous example of English art surviving from the eleventh century and has been of unparalleled importance to historians and art historians of the period.
'To have it back in its country of origin, accessible to a far wider public, is a wonderful opportunity.'
One British government official - rejecting the suggestion the violent tapestry simply reaffirms ancient Anglo-French hostility - told the Times: '[It] underlines both governments' recognition of the depth of a relationship rooted in our shared history.'
The Times's cartoonist Peter Brookes linked Bayeux and Brexit in his offering in Wednesday's edition, which was drawn in the style of the tapestry.
It depicted Mr Macron as 'Emmanuel the Conqueror' riding forth with a confident smile as Mrs May, brandishing a Brexit banner, received an arrow in the eye - the fate that befell King Harold according to the tapestry.
Foreign secretary Boris Johnson was depicted slumped forward on a horse with two arrows in his bottom.
Previous attempts to see the tapestry brought to the UK - during the Queen's coronation in 1953 and to mark the 900th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings in 1966 - ended in failure.
TIMELINE: THE BAYEUX TAPESTRY
1066: Between seven and twelve thousand Norman soldiers defeat an English army of a similar size at what is now Battle, East Sussex
1476: The embroidered cloth depicting the battle is referred to for the first time in an inventory of Bayeux Cathedral
1732-3: Antiquarian Smart Lethieullier writes the first detailed English account of the tapestry while living in Paris - but it is not published till 1767
Nazi ghoul Heinrich Himmler (pictured) coveted the cloth because it is a part of Germanic history
1792: During the French Revolution, the precious artwork was declared public property and confiscated to be used as a covering for wagons - but it was saved by a lawyer who hid it in his home
1804: In a move dripping in symbolism, Napoleon - under the impression France was about to invade and conquer Britain - had the tapestry temporarily moved to Paris for display
1870: The tapestry is removed from Bayeux once again during the Franco-Prussian War - but it is moved back two years later
1944: The Gestapo removed the tapestry to the Louvre in Paris - just days before the German withdrawal. A message from Heimlich Himmler - who coveted the cloth because it is a part of Germanic history - is believed to imply the Nazis planned to take it to Berlin
1945: It was returned to Bayeux, where it has been ever since
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