France, July 10 -- The tapestry's arrival in London has been widely anticipated, but due to security concerns all details of when and how it would arrive had been kept secret.

The 70-metre tapestry depicts in 58 scenes the events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.

Folded accordion-style in a climate-controlled case and placed inside a shock-absorbing cradle, it was transported in a truck that crossed from France through the Channel Tunnel.

After an 11-hour, 560-kilometre trip, escorted by police, the truck backed slowly into a loading bay at the British museum, where workers eased the crate, the size of a small car, to the ground.

Museum staff and British and French diplomats, including the French ambassador to the ...