British Museum curator admits Bayeux Tapestry 'will never be hung up again'

However, during its temporary residence in London, the historic artwork, dating back to 1066, has been lying flat in a display case.

Experts now say the Bayeux Tapestry may never be seen hung up again.

Llyod de Beer, a curator who is overseeing the London exhibition, said experts have long been aware it was not "appropriate" to display the tapestry hanging.

"It will not go back to Bayeux and be hanging," he told an audience at the Cheltenham Literary Festival.

"If you saw the Bayeux hanging, that's the last time in our lifetimes you will ever see it like that again.

"It will only ever be shown flat or at an angle, depending on the conservation requirements of the object."

The embroidery is on display at the British Museum until July after a landmark agreement was made with the French Government, who placed strict rules around light exposure to conserve the artwork.

Hundreds of officers, riot police, and a helicopter protected a climate-controlled lorry that carried the artwork to the museum.

But when it returns to France, it will be displayed at an angle.

Mr de Beer told The Telegraph laying the Bayeux Tapestry flat was the "very best thing we can do" for an ancient textile.

He said: "From a public point of view, that’s more challenging, so any museum is always trying to gauge what the risks are to an object.

"So the decision has been taken that when it goes back, it will be displayed at an angle. Whether that means forever and ever, who knows.

"But certainly in the foreseeable future and for our generation, that's the last time you would see it hung."

The artwork was hung in Normandy for the first time in 1982, Mr de Beer said, but curators had been pushing for the artwork to be laid flat for a decade - an angular case is now being developed.

Mr de Beer added: "I was a little worried as a curator when it was first suggested that this would be the way it was displayed [in Britain], and then I saw a mock-up. You can get closer to it than ever before, and the lighting is so beautiful."

But the exhibition has drawn criticism from visitors whose narrow 40-minute windows to see the historic cut short, while others have been turned away entirely.

The George Osborne-chaired institution has been forced to make changes, including an audio guide which encourages tourists to "keep moving forward" along the length of the tapestry to "make the most of your time".

A new tranche of highly sought-after tickets is available next week.