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Private Peter Thiel viewing of the Bayeux Tapestry alarms museum staff

artSep 3, 2026944,274

The British Museum privately hosted tech billionaire Peter Thiel for a VIP pre-opening viewing of the Bayeux Tapestry on 18 August, hosted by the museum’s director of development Charlotte Appleyard. Staff raised concerns that scarce “lux hours,” a combined measure of light intensity and exposure time used to limit light damage to the fragile textile, were being allocated to someone with no known interest in the museum. Museum sources confirmed the visit took place and said chair George Osborne was aware but did not attend. Museum leaders were warned about public perception because of Thiel’s connections to Jeffrey Epstein and Palantir’s controversial role in UK public life, including a reported £330m NHS contract held since 2023. The museum says no light hours have been taken from the allocation for public visitors and that Thiel is not a donor and provided no money. The exhibition gallery is still under construction and only limited viewings have been possible; public demand has been high, with reports of queues reaching 40,000 by mid-morning and almost 80,000 by mid-afternoon when tickets first went on sale. The museum announced the next wave of public tickets will go on sale on 21 October at 10am.

Otto English
@ottoenglish.bsky.social

John Redwood here - still smarting from an invasion that took place... NINE HUNDRED AND FIFTY YEARS ago

As we consider the Bayeux Embroidery we
should remember the many killed by this
French invasion. English men and women
had their lands stolen. Many were put into
serfdom by a new Norman governing class.
103145d ago
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