After this week’s excitement with the British Museum releasing tickets for the Bayeux Tapestry it’s left me wondering if Queen Victoria ever saw the famous artefact.
Throughout her reign Queen Victoria visited France around eleven times but never saw the ‘celebrated Bayeux Tapestry’. However, in May 1896 the elderly monarch was wheeled into St George’s Hall at Windsor, where she was to see a full-length replica of the tapestry.
Having visited the original Bayeux Tapestry in 1885, Elizabeth Wardle, member of the Leek Embroidery Society in Staffordshire, set about recreating the historic masterpiece to be displayed in England. In total, 35 women from Leek, Derbyshire, Birmingham, Macclesfield and London worked on the replica, using hand-coloured photographs of the original as a reference.
Upon its completion the replica tapestry was presented to the town of Reading before going on a decade long tour around Britain, Germany and Austria. In 1895 the replica relic was exhibited at Reading Town Hall before being purchased by former mayor, Arthur Hill, who presented it as a gift to the town. A year later Queen Victoria requested to see the replica for herself. On 11th May 1896 the Queen was wheeled into St George’s Hall in Windsor to see the ‘very curious copy of the celebrated Bayeux Tapestry’. Having been personally requested to be in attendance, Arthur Hill talked Victoria through the various elements and details. The Queen had always taken a keen interest in history and is said to have been fascinated and asked many questions about the British replica.
The replica was later returned to Reading Museum and Art Gallery and has continued to amaze visitors for over a century. However, 2026 marks the return of the original Bayeux Tapestry in England for the first time in almost a thousand years. Over the last few days there has been a mad rush of history lovers trying to get their hands on tickets before they sold out. Were you successful in the race?
© Queen.Victoria.Roses 2026
