1. Actually it is an embroidery, stitched by hand, not a tapestry, woven on a loom.
2. Its origins are unclear, though it is generally thought to have been commissioned by William The Conqueror’s half-brother, Bishop Odo of Bayeux.
3. It is also unclear whether the tapestry was made by French nuns or English embroiderers in Canterbury.
4. The tapestry is 230 feet long and 20 inches high.
5. The pictures on the tapestry tell the story of events from 1064 to 1066, culminating in the Battle of Hastings.
6. It is thought to have been originally some four or five feet longer but the final section has long been missing.
7. The arrow that allegedly hit King Harold in the eye was only added to the tapestry in the 18th or 19th century during restoration work.
8. One scene features the first known depiction of Halley’s Comet, which was seen in England in 1066.
9. Britain asked to borrow it for the Queen’s coronation in 1953 but the French said: “Non.”
10. The tapestry was first displayed in 1077 at the consecration of Bayeux Cathedral.