British Museum hosted Peter Thiel for private Bayeux Tapestry viewing

The British Museum privately hosted tech billionaire Peter Thiel for a viewing of the Bayeux Tapestry on 18 August. The visit took place in the exhibition space before the artwork was made available to the public. Charlotte Appleyard, the museum's director of development, hosted the viewing for the PayPal founder.

Senior museum leaders were reportedly warned about potential public perception issues concerning Thiel's connections to Jeffrey Epstein. Concerns were also raised among some staff regarding the allocation of limited 'lux hours', a measure of light intensity and exposure time, to the sensitive tapestry for someone with no stated interest in the museum.

The exhibition gallery is currently under construction. Limited viewings have been offered to various stakeholders, including museum chair George Osborne and his podcasting partner Ed Balls. The museum confirmed that no light hours were taken from the allocation intended for public visitors. Thiel is not a donor to the museum, and no funds have been received through him or his businesses.

Public tickets for the Bayeux Tapestry exhibition, which went on sale earlier in summer, saw significant demand, with reports of up to 80,000 people queueing online. The museum announced that a further release of public tickets will be available on 21 October.

Context of Thiel's Associations

Peter Thiel is the founder of Palantir, a software company that provides data integration, analytics, and artificial intelligence platforms. Palantir holds several British public contracts, including a £330 million deal with the NHS since 2023. The company's work with military and immigration agencies has drawn scrutiny.

In May, Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, blocked a proposed £50 million contract between the Metropolitan Police and Palantir, stating that Londoners expected public funds to be awarded to companies that align with the city's values. Palantir is currently challenging this decision in the high court.

Records indicate that Peter Thiel maintained contact with Jeffrey Epstein for several years after Epstein's 2008 conviction. Correspondence suggests meetings and lunches between the two from around 2014 onwards. Epstein's Southern Trust Company also invested approximately $40 million in a venture fund co-founded by Thiel.