It’s really fantastic to see you here and to just really take in this incredible place that is the British Museum, a world-class institution, which I’m really proud to say is also right in the heart of my constituencies, so welcome to my manor.
Mr President, Emmanuel, Mrs Macron, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, you’re very, very welcome here and it is fantastic to see you. We have thousands of visitors here every day from all over the globe to admire the Museum’s incredible collection of world history all around us here, every single day. So it’s a real pleasure to welcome two special sets of guests this afternoon, our brilliant French guests and friends who are all here, but also young people representing the next generation and that is so important as we contemplate our history because I know just how important access to the arts, to culture and history is for the next generation.
Its potential to spark the imagination. There’ll be very many people who come here and have their imagination sparked and that has put a light on for them and for so many other people to transform young people’s lives by bringing history and culture and art into it. And opening their eyes to new possibilities and opportunities and encourage them to reach the full extent of their ambitions and their talents. So no matter where you’re from or who you are, it’s here to bring us together to remind us of our shared history but also the common bonds that endure across languages, across borders and cultures – and that’s what today is all about, making sure that everyone can appreciate our incredible history, inviting young people to bridge our past and our future and igniting the passions and the talent of the next generation.
And we are celebrating a brilliant initiative today. Everybody is walking around here with a smile on their face and when the President yesterday announced to both Houses what was going to be happening here there was a great cheer went up and that was representative I think of how this is being felt across the entire country.
It is a brilliant initiative because what Emmanuel, my friend, announced yesterday, this cultural exchange between our two nations, two of the great treasures of our history, the priceless artefacts of Sutton Hoo, which we’ve just been to see upstairs, absolutely incredible story, incredible artefacts. And the Bayeux Tapestry, which means so much and again the smiles as people saw just the depiction on the wall behind me as we walked in tells you just how much this means. Because for Sutton Hoo 1,300 years ago in East Anglia, a wealthy man, we don’t know who it was, probably a King, was buried in a lavish funeral ceremony, an Anglo-Saxon era that of course was put to an end 300 years later by William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings, but it is an incredible piece of history that we have here just imagining what that must have been like changing our perception of that era of history frankly and bringing so much learning to us, and of course the Battle of Hastings illustrated by the remarkable Bayeux Tapestry – the beginning of a thousand years of shared culture that is now defined by mutual admiration and kinship, as well of course by some healthy competition as anyone who was watching the Euros on Saturday will attest, but that history, that long history forms the foundation of the European continent as we know it today. Now both these treasures contain stories of war and of peace, of power and of politics, alliances and enemies that we still know all too well in our modern world. They show us how connected our countries have always been, they deepen our appreciation of our shared history and enrich the relationship between our two nations today because we are now entering a new era of world history, a time of huge change and turmoil that has led to insecurity for so many people and in this new world our alliances are in my view more important than ever.
The strength and solidarity of countries that share the same values, the same aims, the same hope for the future so just as we stood together in the last century to bring peace to Europe and it was a real privilege, Emmanuel, to mark Armistice Day in France, walking with you the same route as Churchill and de Gaulle once walked. Thank you so much again for that invitation to be there at that very special moment and today the UK is proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with France leading the coalition of the willing to support Ukraine, as well of course us working together to call for a sustainable peace in the Middle East. And at home we’re working together for our shared security and prosperity, creating jobs and growth for our people, tackling irregular migration, strengthening our defences to protect Europe from any threats, growing our economies and collaborating on the technologies of the future, and forging closer connections between our peoples with this cultural exchange, giving people across Britain the chance to admire a Bayeux Tapestry, and there will be so many people who will want to come here to see that as soon as they can, and people across France to enjoy the treasures of ancient England. Well timed for the thousandth anniversary of William the Conqueror’s birth in 2027, so as we look back together today we are also inspired to look forward towards the future and remember that it is for us to write our own chapter of history now as two nations who forged peace, made our people better off and remain the strongest of allies and the closest of friends and on that note it is a pleasure to welcome my friend, Mr President, Emmanuel, to speak to you today.
Thank you so much.
