EUROPE will mark 1,000 years since the birth of William the Conqueror with the European Year of the Normans.
Across the continent, countries with Norman heritage will come alive with festivals, exhibitions, and unforgettable experiences.
And with the loan of the original Bayeux Tapestry to the British Museum taking place in September 2026, Reading will be at the heart of this extraordinary year.
The town will proudly showcase its rich Norman legacy with a programme of special events centred on Britain’s Bayeux Tapestry and Reading’s royal abbey.
For the first time ever, visitors will be able to see both Britain’s and Normandy’s Bayeux Tapestries in England in the same year.
And the two displays will be less than an hour apart on the Elizabeth Line.
The Year of the Normans reaches from Normandy across Europe.
The Normans shaped lands far beyond their original borders, from the English coast to the Scandinavian fjords, from the green hills of Ireland to the sunlit Mediterranean shores.
In 1066, William the Conqueror became King of England, embedding Norman influence deeply in British culture, language and architecture.
These connections are especially strong in Reading and Royal Berkshire.
Reading’s own full-size Victorian version of the Bayeux Tapestry will celebrate its own 140th anniversary in 2026.
William owned Reading and gave land here to Battle Abbey, the monastery he founded on the site of his victory at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
In 1121 William’s youngest son King Henry I founded his own royal monastery, Reading Abbey, where he was buried in 1136.
For information, and to book a guided tour of Reading’s Bayeux Tapestry, visit: readingmuseum.org.uk
More details of the Norman programme will appear on Reading Museum’s web page in spring 2026.
