Bayeux Royal Appointment! As thousands flock to the tapestry, Kate and kids are set for private viewing
Published: | Updated:
The Princess of Wales and her three children are set to enjoy an exclusive private viewing of the Bayeux Tapestry as the blockbuster exhibition continues to attract record visitors, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
The British Museum has had early talks with Kensington Palace to arrange a special visit for Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis after its director, Dr Nicholas Cullinan, extended a personal invitation for them to view the 1,000-year-old masterpiece.
This would give the Wales children the chance to enjoy the historic tapestry away from thousands of daily visitors who have flocked to see it since it arrived from France in September.
The invitation is the latest attempt by the museum to lure the Duchess of Cambridge into becoming its next royal patron.
As the MoS revealed last month, senior figures at the museum, including Dr Cullinan and chairman George Osborne, are keen to attract her through its doors in Bloomsbury, London.
A source said: 'The Museum is trying to find a date with Kensington Palace for the Wales children to attend.
'An invitation has been extended and the Museum has a good relationship with the Princess of Wales, so everyone is hoping it will all come to pass.
The British Museum have reportedly invited the Princess of Wales and her children (pictured at Wimbledon in July this year) to an exclusive private viewing of the Bayeux Tapestry
Pictured: The first visitors to see the tapestry at the British Museum in London on September 10
'Catherine is emerging as a great supporter of British museums. It seems she's leaning into supporting landmark museums as one of her passion projects.
'A visit to the British Museum is long overdue and it's starting to become a conspicuous omission, particularly given how many others she's visited. Some at the British Museum feel it is their 'turn' as it were.'
The princess recently declined an invitation to appear at the museum's gala ball event.
Kensington Palace is very conscious of any 'narrative' that the Wales children are getting 'special treatment', another source points out.
'Catherine, in particular, puts a lot of time and effort into making sure they have as normal an upbringing as possible,' the source said.
'But at the same time, the children can't realistically stand in a queue for hours in public like other children, unfortunately.'
A long list of celebrities have already had private viewings, including Lily Allen, Mick Jagger, and Maya Jama.
At least 800,000 people are expected to see the tapestry before the exhibition ends on July 11 next year.
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.