London: Britons are ecstatic. A famously long and gory depiction of Anglo Saxon defeat at the hands of a European dynasty is coming home.
Truly, history is embroidered by the winners.
But rarely has a symbolic gesture been loaded with so much symbolism, especially in the age of Brexit. Is it a stitch-up by the French?
The UK woke on Wednesday to the news that the Bayeux Tapestry, the famous depiction of (and propaganda for) the Norman conquest of England in 1066, could be coming to England, the first time the artwork has been seen outside France since the 11th century, if ever.
The loan was set to be announced on Thursday by French President Emmanuel Macron at a UK-France summit in Sandhurst, where British Prime Minister Theresa May, said The Times, would hail it as proof of the two countries' enduring "entente cordiale".
The move won't happen for at least two years, probably longer, and depends on whether the tapestry can be restored to a condition where it would survive intact, a tricky prospect.
It hasn't moved since 1944 when the occupying Germans briefly took it to the Louvre (where it was displayed after the war before moving back to Bayeux), and many believe it should never move again, for risk of further damage.
The tapestry suffered at both ends from centuries of being folded and unfolded for annual display - the last metre vanished long ago.
It has been restored several times, sometimes changing the text.
Even the tapestry's most famous scene is fake news. Experts believe the arrow piercing the eye of "King Harold" was a 19th century addition. But no matter.
Macron is getting a reputation for bringing big gifts on trips abroad. In China, he gave President Xi Jinping a horse of the elite French Republican Guard named Vesuvius.
The youngest French leader since Napoleon Bonaparte is showing a dab hand at the symbols of diplomacy, having hosted Russian President Valdimir Putin in Versailles and US President Donald Trump in Paris on Bastille Day - gestures calculated to flatter and impress.
So what can we read into his choice of the Bayeux Tapestry as his ???gift' at this week's summit? Is he hoping to provoke new concessions from the Brits, or is he just needling them?
Napoleon put the tapestry on display at the Louvre in 1803, in anticipation of his planned invasion of Britain.
The Nazis saw it as a depiction of Aryans conquering Britain. Hitler's deputy Heinrich Himmler was especially fond of it, seeing it as a monument to Germanic conquests, and very nearly succeeded in stealing it back to Berlin, a plan reportedly foiled by British code-crackers.
Arch-Brexiteer Nigel Farage is known to have worn a Bayeux Tapestry tie, as a reminder of "the last time we were invaded and taken over" (never mind the Glorious Revolution of 1689 when another William, the prince of Orange, invaded England with a Dutch fleet and took the throne. Seriously, let's not go there).
The British media reacted according to their natures.
"Historic, yes, but is it any good?" asked the style-police at the Guardian.
Meanwhile the Telegraph worried: "Is it French or is it actually British?". There is a long historical argument over where it was made, with recent challenges to the 20th century consensus it was made in England, probably Canterbury.
And then there was the Express: "Proof of TIME TRAVEL? Twitter users spot ???Donald Trump' on Bayeux Tapestry".
So we just keep the Bayeux Tapestry until the EU gives us what we want, right? pic.twitter.com/i4Ub7YyVkG??? Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) January 17, 2018
In these politically fraught times in Europe, any symbol of French victory over the English is a nuanced gift.
Of course the Normans, though they spoke French(ish), were descended from Norse Vikings who married Frankish wives.
And, of course, the Norman William the Conquerer conquered a country riddled with Vikings. In the 9th century, half the country was under the Danelaw.
Danish King Cnut was also king of England and Norway just 30 years before William's victory at the Battle of Hastings over King Harold, and the first Palace of Westminster was built by his stepson.
For anyone paying attention, the Bayeux Tapestry is the legacy of a squabble over sovereignty between Scandinavians - or a reminder of England's long history as a part of Europe.
You can bet this won't be May's take.
