Historians generally agree that the Bayeux Tapestry, a nearly 225-foot-long embroidered cloth depicting the events leading up to and including the Norman conquest of England in 1066, is missing several feet from its end. The surviving tapestry concludes abruptly with the Norman victory at the Battle of Hastings and the Latin inscription "Et fuga verterunt Angli," meaning "and the English turned in flight," a finish that many scholars believe was not the work’s intended conclusion.

Medieval narratives typically ended with a definitive resolution, and the abrupt ending, combined with the physical condition of the tapestry’s terminus—which appears unfinished—suggests that between eight and ten feet of the fabric are lost. The precise timing of the loss and the exact content of the missing segment remain unknown.

The most widely accepted theory is that the missing portion likely depicted William the Conqueror’s coronation at Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1066. Such a scene would provide a logical narrative closure, showing Harold Godwinson’s defeat followed by William’s formal ascent to the English throne. This conclusion would align with the common belief that the tapestry was commissioned to legitimize Norman rule in England.

Alternative suggestions propose that the missing section may have portrayed English nobles submitting to William or early moments of Norman governance on English soil.

The Bayeux Tapestry is set to be displayed at the British Museum in London from September 10 until July next year, marking the first time it will be exhibited in the UK since its creation over 900 years ago. The exhibition has already recorded the highest day of ticket sales in the museum’s history and provides visitors with an opportunity to view the tapestry closely and observe for themselves where the historical narrative unexpectedly ends.