France demanded Rosetta Stone and free tickets for its citizens in exchange for Bayeux Tapestry being displayed at the British Museum
But the demands tabled by Paris officials to return the historic artifact to England after more than 900 years risked reigniting tensions.
French president Emmanuel Macron last month announced that the iconic depiction of the 1066 Norman Conquest and the Battle of Hastings would be loaned to the British Museum next year.
He originally floated the idea at a summit with former prime minister Theresa May in 2018 but it was met with fierce pushback from French cultural officials.
Discussions only restarted earlier this year but both sides were still at odds over the conditions to loan Britain the 70-metre-long work, according to the Finanical Times.
France first looked at swapping the Rosetta Stone for the multicoloured wool embroidery and asked for its citizens to be allowed to see the tapestry for free at the British Museum, those briefed on the talks claimed.
UK culture minister Sir Chris Bryant met French culture minister Rachida Dati in Cannes in May where she made it clear that while France was prepared to loan the tapestry, it wanted treasures previously unseen in their country to go the other way.
'It felt a bit like they were googling all the most famous things in the British Museum,' one British official told the Financial Times.
'They were originally thinking of the Rosetta Stone. That was complicated by the fact that the French found it and we took it off them.'
The Rosetta Stone is the most visited object in the British Musuem and was initially found by Napoleon's soldiers in 1799 before it was taken by Britain in 1801 following his defeat.
Ms Dati then proposed exchanging the tapestry with the Sutton Hoo treasures which were discovered as part of a seventh century Anglo-Saxon ship burial in Suffolk in 1939.
The British Museum also offered the Lewis Chessmen, medieval chess pieces discovered in 1831 on the Isle of Lewis, to museums in France with other artifacts from Wales and Northern Ireland to be added.
While talks progressed in complete secrecy with the aim of reaching an agreement before Mr Macron's state visit to the UK in July, there was another sticking point.
French officials were determined to get free admission for French citizens to see the Bayeux Tapestry.
'That was never going to happen,' another UK official said. 'It was a try-on.' Both sides later agreed to get as many kids in to see the historic artifect as possible.
But Paris also allegedly wanted the UK to pay for both moving the tapestry from Bayeux to London and for shipping its goods to museums in Normandy.
'That was also a non-starter,' a British source familiar with the talks added.
Transporting the tapestry to the UK is expected to cost millions of euros and is likely set to be moved by truck to avoid any damage.
When it finally arrives at the British Museum it won't be hung over fears it will crease, stretch or tear but will instead be displayed lying on long inclined tables.
The 70-metre-long work depicts the battle which saw William The Conqueror take the English throne from Harold Godwinson and become the first Norman king of England.
It is widely accepted to have been made in England during the 11th century and was likely to have been commissioned by Bishop Odo Of Bayeux.
The artwork has been on display in various locations across France during its history, and in 1983 was moved to the Bayeux Museum in Normandy where it attracts 400,000 visitors per year.
It is expected to generate huge interest when it goes on display at the British Museum in September 2026 with hopes it could eclipse the 1.7 million visitors who went to see the Treasures of Tutankhamun exhibition of 1972.
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BBC News
16 minutes ago
- BBC News
Family, memories and childhood - getting to know Wayne Rooney
The Football Interview is a new series in which the biggest names in sport and entertainment join host Kelly Somers for bold and in-depth conversations about the nation's favourite sport. We'll explore mindset and motivation, and talk about defining moments, career highs and personal reflections. The Football Interview brings you the person behind the will drop on Saturdays across BBC iPlayer, BBC Sounds and the BBC Sport website. They will also run on BBC One on a Saturday after Match of the Day. Wayne Rooney will always be regarded as one of England's best scored 53 goals in 120 appearances for his country and won the Premier League five times with Manchester United, as well as lifting the Champions League, Europa League, FA Cup and League Cup during a glittering will be one of the pundits on the BBC's Match of the Day throughout the season, giving his views on all the latest Premier League that, he sat down with Kelly Somers in the first of a weekly BBC feature called The Football Interview to discuss his career, his life away from football and his family. Watch the full Football Interview with Rooney on BBC iPlayer Kelly Somers: What does football mean to you? Wayne Rooney: As a young boy, it's all I ever wanted to do - to play football, at school, in the house, on the streets. The emotion of the game, of trying to win, the excitement. It was a massive adrenaline rush. Then I was fortunate enough to go on and play professionally and have a good, long career. Now I'm living in a different way as a parent, with my children involved in football. It's something that will always be with me. KS: Can you remember your first team? WR: Yes, it was the Copplehouse Colts - an under-nines team. I think I was about seven. I scored a lot of goals and used to keep the games on the fridge in the house. My mum would do it with me. We would write the game down, what the score was and if I scored. We did that every season. When you're young, there are a lot of goals scored. It was really special. KS: Was there one moment - maybe a turning point - that enabled you to go on and do what you do? WR: Yes, I always remember when I was about 14 - I was doing things you shouldn't be doing. Colin Harvey was the under-19s manager at the time. He saw me crossing the road with a bag of cider, which of course was wrong. He pulled me in and said: 'If you keep doing this, you are going to throw everything - your talent, your ability - away. You need to focus yourself because you have the ability to go on and play for not just Everton - but England.'From then was when I thought, 'I need to stop doing it'. I stopped going out with my mates quite a lot and purely focused on football. I think that conversation with Colin Harvey was definitely the turning point. KS: Is there one person who has had the biggest impact on your career? WR: I couldn't say one. My mum and dad equally. I see it now when I'm taking my kids to football. My mum didn't drive and my dad worked, so I used to have to take three buses with my mum at my mum and dad had huge roles to play and, as a kid, you probably don't appreciate it. You take it for granted - the stress, the work they put in. I have two brothers and they had to do it for them as well. It's only when you have kids you see it and understand the sacrifices they had to have four boys and they are all in different places, so me and Coleen are often in different places. The kids always want me to be there, so I have to mix up what I go and watch. It's non-stop really, every day of the week. KS: You played in some huge matches. If there was one match you could go back and relive and you can change the outcome - which would it be? WR: If I had to choose one, I'd say the Arsenal FA Cup final in 2005. The performance, how we played against a very good Arsenal team... and then we lost on penalties. I would say that is the one I would change, because it was one we probably deserved to the Croatia game, which I didn't play in, for England. We needed to draw or win the game to qualify for Euro 2008. That was horrible - being there behind the players on the bench, sitting there and watching them. Then seeing what happened with Steve McClaren on the touchline. Rain was pouring down - losing the game and not going to Euro 2008... that was one time I felt embarrassed about being a player. KS: When you finished playing, did you always know you wanted to try management. Did you know you wanted to try the media? What was that decision like? WR: With management, it was something I always wanted to go into. I saw it as a challenge. I always want in life to be challenged and take things head on, but also understood that there's a chance it might go wrong as well. But I don't mind taking that risk and challenge. Some former players might wait for the perfect opportunity. The Derby County one... I was playing there and Phillip Cocu got sacked. We went into administration. It was a really tough start to management but I felt we did a really good DC United, when we went there, I felt we did a good job even though it doesn't get portrayed that way. They had finished bottom the three seasons before we went there and we got them to within a point of the play-offs. The Birmingham one, everything was wrong - the timing of it, the fans didn't really give me an opportunity, we lost games. It felt right at the time but looking back at it, it wasn' at Plymouth, we were doing OK for what we had and then the decision was made. After that I thought, 'I don't know why I am putting myself in these positions'. I looked into doing punditry, did bits and enjoyed it and felt the time was right. So here I am! KS: What type of pundit is Wayne Rooney going to be? WR: I think I'm quite fair and honest really - that is the only way to be. I say this as a player, a manager, and now as a pundit - it's the same values. The fans aren't stupid. If you expect me to sit there and try and sugar-coat things which fans can see, I don't think I should be doing are some pundits out there who try and go over the top as well. All I can do is try and be fair with what I'm seeing and give my honest opinion. I am sure some players or managers might get annoyed with that but you have to be honest. Wayne Rooney the player probably wouldn't like Wayne Rooney the pundit, and I get used to think 'why would pundits say that?' but when you finish playing you realise why pundits say things. I've been criticised by many pundits as a player and I was never one to phone them up and complain - it actually drove me a bit more to think, 'next time you are speaking, you are saying good things'. I want to see Man Utd do well, of course I do, but I'm very good mates with Jonny Evans and I criticised him last season. If you're speaking truthfully on what you feel then it makes it very difficult for a player to come to you and question why you're saying things. KS: How do you switch off and relax? WR: I always try to have some time just to sit there and if watching a TV series I just chill with a glass of wine and just switch off from important just to switch your mind off from everything really. I used to do this as a player and leave anything football-wise at the gate. I would come in and wouldn't even talk about football. KS: It must be hard to switch off from football with your boys - Kai is in Manchester United's academy and seems to be doing well WR: Yes, he's doing really well. I was at my cousin's wedding at the weekend. They were doing the speeches and I had my phone and was watching Kai playing in Croatia. I jumped up - he scored in the last minute - but he was offside!He loves it. He wants to be a football player, that's the most important thing. He wants to do it and he is working hard to try to do it. KS: Describe what he is like WR: He plays as a striker, plays off the right. He's strong, not the tallest, but he will be taller than me. He understands the game fantastically and he thinks about it. He comes home, cooks for himself, he speaks fluent Spanish, so he is doing everything he can to try to live his the last few months it has been the first time I've been able to go on a consistent basis. KS: Do you coach him from the sidelines? WR: No. I think it's important he listens to his coaches. I can give my thoughts afterwards, which a lot of the time is the same as the coaches. There are a lot of other parents that are doing the shouting on the touchline so I stay quiet! I have a conversation with him on the way home and ask him what happened, what he could do better, how he feels about the game and that way suits him. KS: What is your favourite film? WR: It was The Shawshank Redemption but I think over the last few years I'm going to have to say The Wolf of Wall Street.I also love Sister Act - I love musicals! KS: Before what important game did you watch Sister Act? WR: It was before the Champions League final! It was just the longest afternoon. I always tried to watch a movie before an evening game. KS: Tell me something about you that will surprise me WR: The one thing I can think of is I cry at everything on TV - X-Factor when people go through, I start crying. As a player I was quite aggressive, but I'm actually quite soft really. KS: What do people get wrong about you the most? WR: It's no secret that I didn't even take GCSEs but I think people assume because of that that I'm not educated, which is really wrong.I made a conscious effort when I was at Everton and Manchester United to educate myself in a lot of different things, such as black history and religion. The reason I did that was because I wanted to hold conversations with my team-mates who are from different was something I did to help me with my team-mates and help understand how they have been brought up. That's probably something people don't understand about me. KS: What are you most proud of? WR: With family, that's the main thing. That's why you do things. Being a bit older and seeing my kids grow into teenagers, I'm helping them grow up in life. That's what I'm proud of - that's what I do everything for. KS: If you could only achieve or do one thing in the rest of your life what would it be? WR: Maybe become the next James Bond!
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
100 days of Pope Leo XIV: a calm papacy that avoids polemics is coming into focus
When Pope Leo XIV surprised tens of thousands of young people at a recent Holy Year celebration with an impromptu popemobile romp around St. Peter's Square, it almost seemed as if some of the informal spontaneity that characterized Pope Francis' 12-year papacy had returned to the Vatican. But the message Leo delivered that night was all his own: In seamless English, Spanish and Italian, Leo told the young people that they were the 'salt of the Earth, the light of the world.' He urged them to spread their hope, faith in Christ and their cries of peace wherever they go. As Robert Prevost marks his 100th day as Pope Leo this weekend, the contours of his pontificate have begun to come into relief, primarily where he shows continuity with Francis and where he signals change. Perhaps the biggest takeaway is that after 12 sometimes turbulent years under Francis, a certain calm and reserve have returned to the papacy. Leo seems eager above all to avoid polemics or making the papacy about himself, and wants instead to focus on Christ and peace. That seems exactly what many Catholic faithful want, and may respond to what today's church needs. 'He's been very direct and forthright … but he's not doing spontaneous press hits,' said Kevin Hughes, chair of theology and religious studies at Leo's alma mater, Villanova University. Leo has a different style than Francis, and that has brought relief to many, Hughes said in a telephone interview. 'Even those who really loved Pope Francis always kind of held their breath a little bit: You didn't know what was going to come out next or what he was going to do,' Hughes said. An effort to avoid polemics Leo has certainly gone out of his way in his first 100 days to try to heal divisions that deepened during Francis' pontificate, offering messages of unity and avoiding controversy at almost every turn. Even his signature issue — confronting the promise and peril posed by artificial intelligence — is something that conservatives and progressives alike agree is important. Francis' emphasis on caring for the environment and migrants often alienated conservatives. Closer to home, Leo offered the Holy See bureaucracy a reassuring, conciliatory message after Francis' occasionally authoritarian style rubbed some in the Vatican the wrong way. 'Popes come and go, but the Curia remains,' Leo told Vatican officials soon after his May 8 election. Continuity with Francis is still undeniable Leo, though, has cemented Francis' environmental legacy by celebrating the first-ever ecologically inspired Mass. He has furthered that legacy by giving the go-ahead for the Vatican to turn a 430-hectare (1,000-acre) field north of Rome into a vast solar farm that should generate enough electricity to meet Vatican City's needs and turn it into the world's first carbon-neutral state. He has fine-tuned financial transparency regulations that Francis initiated, tweaked some other decrees to give them consistency and logic, and confirmed Francis in deciding to declare one of the 19th century's most influential saints, John Henry Newman, a 'doctor' of the church. But he hasn't granted any sit-down, tell-all interviews or made headline-grabbing, off-the-cuff comments like his predecessor did. He hasn't made any major appointments, including to fill his old job, or taken any big trips. In marking the 80th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki last week, he had a chance to match Francis' novel declaration that the mere possession of nuclear weapons was 'immoral.' But he didn't. Compared to President Donald Trump, the other American world leader who took office in 2025 with a flurry of Sharpie-penned executive decrees, Leo has eased into his new job slowly, deliberately and quietly, almost trying not to draw attention to himself. At 69, he seems to know that he has time on his side, and that after Francis' revolutionary papacy, the church might need a bit of a breather. One Vatican official who knows Leo said he expects his papacy will have the effect of a 'calming rain' on the church. Maria Isabel Ibarcena Cuarite, a Peruvian member of a Catholic charismatic group, said it was precisely Leo's quiet emphasis on church traditions, its sacraments and love of Christ, that drew her and upward of 1 million young people to Rome for a special Jubilee week this month. Ibarcena said Francis had confused young people like herself with his outreach to LGBTQ+ Catholics and approval of blessings for same-sex couples. Such gestures went beyond what a pope was supposed to do and what the church taught, she thought. Leo, she said, has emphasized that marriage is a sacrament between men and woman. 'Francis was ambiguous, but he is firm,' she said. An Augustinian pope From his very first appearance on the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica, Leo has insisted he is first and foremost a 'son of St. Augustine. ' It was a reference to the fifth century theological and devotional giant of early Christianity, St. Augustine of Hippo, who inspired the 13th century religious Augustinian order as a community of 'mendicant' friars. Like the other big mendicant orders of the early church — the Franciscans, Dominicans and Carmelites — the Augustinians spread across Christian Europe over the centuries. Today, Augustinian spirituality is rooted in a deep interior life of prayer, living in community, and journeying together in search of truth in God. In nearly every speech or homily since his May 8 election, Leo has cited Augustine in one way or another. 'I see a kind of Augustinian flavor in the way that he's presenting all these things,' said Hughes, the theology professor who is an Augustine scholar. Leo joined the Augustinians after graduating from Augustinian-run Villanova, outside Philadelphia, and was twice elected its prior general. He has visited the Augustinian headquarters outside St. Peter's a few times since his election, and some wonder if he will invite some brothers to live with him in the Apostolic Palace to recreate the spirit of Augustinian community life there. A missionary pope in the image of Francis Leo is also very much a product of the Francis papacy. Francis named Prevost bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, in 2014 and then moved him to head one of the most important Vatican jobs in 2023 — vetting bishop nominations. In retrospect, it seems Francis had his eye on Prevost as a possible successor. Given Francis' stump speech before the 2013 conclave that elected him pope, the then-Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio essentially described Prevost in identifying the church's mission today: He said the church was "called to go outside of itself and go to the peripheries, not just geographic but also the existential peripheries.' Prevost, who hails from Chicago, spent his adult life as a missionary in Peru, eventually becoming bishop of Chiclayo. 'He is the incarnation of the 'unity of difference,' because he comes from the center, but he lives in the peripheries,' said Emilce Cuda, secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. Cuda said during a recent conference hosted by Georgetown University that Leo encapsulated in 'word and gesture' the type of missionary church Francis promoted. That said, for all Leo owes to Bergoglio, the two didn't necessarily get along. Prevost has recounted that at one point when he was the Augustinian superior, the then-archbishop of Buenos Aires expressed interest in assigning an Augustinian priest to a specific job in his archdiocese. 'And I, as prior general, said 'I understand, Your Eminence, but he's got to do something else' and so I transferred him somewhere else,' Prevost told parishioners in his home state of Illinois in 2024. Prevost said he 'naively' thought the Francis wouldn't remember him after his 2013 election, and that regardless 'he'll never appoint me bishop' due to the disagreement. Bergoglio not only made him bishop, he laid the groundwork for Prevost to succeed him as pope, the first North American pope following the first South American. ___ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Like Jeremy Corbyn and Sophie Ellis-Bextor, I grew up in Woodcraft Folk. Here's how it changes children's lives
At the age of six I made the most important decision of my life: I joined Woodcraft Folk. It's impossible to overstate the impact that growing up in the UK's oldest co-educational youth movement made on me. My values, my skills, the deep friendships that have lasted into adulthood, the very fact that I am writing these words in this paper, every vote I have ever cast – all can be traced back to my time in Woodcraft Folk. The largest leftwing force in British youth work, the charity turns 100 this year. It has produced some striking alumni including former Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn, pop star Sophie Ellis-Bextor, poet Michael Rosen, and political editor Robert Peston. With the government announcing new funding to boost youth services outside schools, Woodcraft Folk's centenary is the perfect moment to learn from its remarkable story and unique approach to youth empowerment. The challenges young people face in contemporary Britain take many forms. They are denied the ability to play outside as their grandparents did, or to take healthy risks. They are subject to suspicion from authority and derision in the media. They are fed the full addictive force of under-regulated new technologies almost from birth, then chastised for using them. There are no simple answers to these compounding challenges, but the mix of inclusive community, political education, fun outdoor activities and meaningful support that Woodcraft Folk offers young people could, perhaps, offer a blueprint. Founded in the aftermath of the first world war in south London by working-class young adults who wanted a more democratic and less militaristic alternative to Scouts and Guides, Woodcraft Folk grew quickly. Supported by co-operatives and trade unions, groups germinated across the country, combining after-school activities with large summer camps run on socialist principles. The hope was to model a more egalitarian society, giving young people the skills and knowledge to become active citizens. By the late 30s, Woodcraft Folk was a serious force. The Labour party had recognised it as 'the appropriate organisation for the children of its members' and a mass display of the charity's camping techniques took place in Wembley stadium. Oswald Mosley, founder of the British Union of Fascists, was intimidated by its rise. According to former MP for Brighton Kemptown Lloyd Russell-Moyle, who also grew up in the organisation and is now its chief executive, Mosley's Blackshirts marched to the gates of a 1938 Woodcraft Folk children's camp in a show of intimidation. Fascist Mosley was right to see Woodcraft Folk as an adversary. A year later, it became the largest secular organisation to support the Kindertransport, helping Jewish children escape from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia. Woodcraft Folk leader Henry Fair, christened 'the second Schindler' by the press, was put on the Gestapo death list for his role in the evacuations. Over the decades the charity has remained at the forefront of ethical youth work. It has consistently campaigned against apartheid, austerity and war. It stood up for the rights of queer youth workers despite funders withdrawing grants, marched against the invasion of Iraq and has boycotted Israeli products since 2010 in protest at the blockade of Gaza. For me, Woodcraft Folk was not just a political education, but a rich mix of hiking, making and adventures too. It's where I first learned to light a fire in the rain, use a compass to navigate fog, to juggle and to edit film. The first time I boarded a plane was with Woodcraft Folk to be part of an international camp in Austria, pitching tents alongside children from all over the world. It was with Woodcraft Folk that I marched through London in my first big anti-war protest and, of course, had my first kiss. Many adults balk at the prospect of tackling sensitive subjects like war, sex and politics with children, but finding creative ways to navigate difficult issues is why the charity remains so important and relevant. In the internet era there is no healthy way to shield young people from complex topics, but neither should there be. Ignorance is a shoddy substitute for a culture of safe and open discursive learning, and children are far more capable of grappling with heavy truths than many adults give them credit for. Raised alongside difficult topics, the children of the charity aren't just better prepared for the world, but more able to support and educate each other. For example, when as a kid I tried regurgitating a racist joke I'd heard at a school, it was my Woodcraft Folk peers, rather than adults, who immediately explained why the 'joke' was stupid and offensive and made sure I never repeated my shameful mistake. At a Woodcraft Folk camp marking their centenary, volunteers put the charity's theory of mixing politics with fun activities into practice. Night-time orienteering and ceilidhs ran alongside eviction resistance workshops and discussions around prison abolition. While the Scouts sing campfire songs like Coca-Cola Came to Town and Ging Gang Gooly, the Woodcraft Folk songbook includes civil rights anthems about Rosa Parks and Hiroshima. But if Woodcraft Folk has a clear vision of how society should empower the young, the current government has produced only topsy-turvy contradictory policies and proclamations. Last week the prime minister declared kids these days are 'detached from the real world' and pledged £88m to liberate young people 'stuck behind a screen'. But, at the same time Keir Starmer's government is pumping more than twice as much money into bringing more 'AI learning into classrooms'. Sixteen year olds are finally to get the vote (a right Woodcraft Folk has long campaigned for), yet simultaneously the censorious Online Safety Act has imposed sweeping restrictions on those same young people's access to certain information, including political posts. A closer look at the newly announced youth funding reveals much of it is, in fact, earmarked for calcified initiatives like gym equipment and more police cadets that will fail to holistically broaden horizons. I was a shy and nerdy child, often bullied by local schoolchildren. There's a parallel universe in which, retreating from my tormentors, I too could have become detached from the real world, the reclusive screen addict that Starmer fears. But Woodcraft Folk gave me space to flourish in my own way, supported by caring adults. I built profound friendships with peers, learned about big ideas and took on big challenges. My life and career have been immensely richer thanks to those experiences, as have the lives of thousands of others. If the government is serious about empowering young people, they should start by listening to and learning from the movement that's already been doing it brilliantly for a century. Phineas Harper is a writer and curator
