- France to loan the UK the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts the Norman Conquest
- Jacob Rees-Mogg jibed that the UK should loan French part of HMS Victory flag
- He said the gesture would be a ‘gentle reminder’ that we usually win the battles
Jacob Rees-Mogg today suggested Britain sends France a fragment of the union jack which flew aboard Nelson’s HMS Victory in return for the Bayeux Tapestry.
The Tory darling said the gesture would be a gentle reminder to our friends across the Channel that ‘we usually win the battles’.
He made the jovial remark after being asked for his thoughts about the decision to loan the Medieval tapestry – which depicts the Norman conquest of Britain – to the UK.
Speaking on the BBC’s Sunday Politics, Mr Rees-Mogg suggested that a scrap of the flag which flew upon Nelson’s famous ship in the Battle of Trafalgar should be sent in return.
Jacob Rees-Mogg today suggested Britain sends France a fragment of the union jack which flew aboard Nelson’s HMS Victory in return for the Bayeux Tapestry (file pic)
He told the show the exchange would serve as ‘a reminder that by and large we win the battles’.
The scrap of the historic flag sold for £297,000 at the Sotheby’s auction house earlier this week.
The flag is believed to have flown aboard the ship during the famous Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, when Admiral Lord Nelson’s defeated Napoleon’s French and Spanish ships.
The spectacular victory confirmed Britain’s world as the world’s supreme naval force and dealt the French leader a hammer blow as he tried to conquer much of Europe.
It was announced earlier this week that the Bayeux Tapestry (pictured) will travel to Britain as part of a swap of cultural goods between the UK and France. The piece, which dates from around 1077, depicts the story of William the Conqueror and the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and is displayed in Bayeux, Normandy
The scrap of the historic union jack flag, which is believed to have flown aboard Nelson’s HMS Victory, sold for £297,000 at the Sotheby’s auction house earlier this week.
It was announced earlier this week that the Bayeux Tapestry will travel to Britain as part of a swap of cultural goods between the UK and France.
The piece, which dates from around 1077, depicts the story of William the Conqueror and the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and is displayed in Bayeux, Normandy.
French President Emmanuel Macron gave his approval for the tapestry to be lent to the UK for the first time in 950 years.
Previous bids by the British to have the tapestry loaned to us have been thwarted amid fears it is too fragile to travel.
This revelation sparked reports that the skeleton of Napoleon’s favourite horse Marengo could be sent across the Channel in return.