It was a year which saw two royal reasons to celebrate, with the birth of Prince William and Kate’s third child and, of course, Prince Harry and Meghan’s wedding.

But 2018 was the year that brought us the Salisbury novichok attack and the tragic helicopter crash at Leicester City Football Club.

The world also witnessed the dramatic rescue of a group of young footballers and their coach from flooded caves in Thailand.

Storm Eleanor blows in – 2 January

The storm brought massive disruption to the UK and Ireland, with some winds reaching 100mph.

Tens of thousands of homes and businesses lost power in the west of Ireland as it swept in from the Atlantic.

Donald Trump cancels UK visit – 12 January

Donald Trump cancelled his trip to London to open the new US embassy because he considered the building’s relocation a “bad deal”.

The US President tweeted: “Reason I canceled my trip to London is that I am not a big fan of the Obama Administration having sold perhaps the best located and finest embassy in London for ‘peanuts,’ only to build a new one in an off location for 1.2 billion dollars. Bad deal. Wanted me to cut ribbon-NO.”

Carillion goes into liquidation – 15 January

The construction giant, which employed 20,000 workers, went into liquidation due to massive financial problems, including a £1.5bn debt.

The company worked on big private sector projects such as Battersea Power Station.

Parkland school shooting – 14 February

Seventeen staff and students were killed by a gunman at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, on Valentine’s Day.

Former student Nikolas Cruz was charged in connection with the attack.

Beast from the East – February

The Met Office warned of a “potential risk to life” as heavy snow and low temperatures hit the UK.

Freezing weather swept in from Russia, causing huge disruption to businesses, travel and schools.

Salisbury novichok attack – 4 March

Former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned in Salisbury with the nerve agent novichok.

They, along with a police officer, were treated in hospital. The UK government said Russia was responsible for the attack.

More than 100 Russian diplomats were expelled from more than 20 countries later in the month.

Putin re-elected – 18 March

Vladimir Putin was elected for a fourth term as Russian president. In a widely expected win, Mr Putin secured more than 76.66% of the vote and a turnout of 67.47%, the Central Election Commission said.

The result came amid allegations of election violations, including ballot-box stuffing and forced voting.

Facebook data breach – 19 March

Allegations emerged of a data breach at Facebook with the misuse of personal data by Cambridge Analytica.

Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg refused to answer questions about the subject.

Syrian military bases bombed – 14 April

Britain, America and France ordered the bombing of Syrian military bases in response to an alleged chemical attack on civilians by the Assad regime.

The bombing specifically targeted the Syrian regime’s chemical weapons infrastructure.

William and Kate have third child – 23 April

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge introduced Prince Louis to the world after Kate gave birth at the Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, where she also gave birth to Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

Prince Louis is fifth in line to the throne after his older siblings, his father William, and his grandfather Charles.

Trump withdraws from the Iranian nuclear agreement – 8 May

Donald Trump pulled the US out of the Iran nuclear deal to the dismay of European allies and Barack Obama, the former president who spearheaded the 2015 agreement.

During a recent White House announcement, Mr Trump once again criticised the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), calling it “disastrous” and “one-sided”.

Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle – 19 May

Prince Harry told Meghan Markle “you look amazing” as millions of royal fans around the world watched their fairy-tale wedding at Windsor Castle.

The happy couple smiled and held hands at the altar in the historic surrounds of St George’s Chapel, before exchanging vows in front of a star-studded congregation.

Third runway at Heathrow gets government approval – 5 June

The government, later backed by MPs, approved plans for a £14bn plan to expand Heathrow with a third runway.

Then foreign secretary Boris Johnson, who famously vowed to lie down in front of bulldozers to prevent expansion of the airport, was visiting Afghanistan and so skipped the vote by MPs.

2018 FIFA World Cup – 14 June

The World Cup began in Russia and went on until 15 July, when France beat Croatia 4-2 in the final.

England made it to the semi-finals but finished fourth after losing the third place play-off 2-0 to Belgium. Still, it was their best World Cup result in almost 30 years, equalling their fourth place in Italia 90.

Donald Trump visits the UK – July

The president had tea with the Queen and described her as a “tremendous woman” during his visit to the UK in 2018.

But his trip caused widespread protests, with a nappy-clad, orange Trump Baby blimp launched in London in his honour.

Boys and football coach rescued from flooded cave in Thailand – 10 July

Twelve boys aged between 11 and 16, as well as their football coach, were rescued from a flooded cave in Thailand after more than two weeks of being trapped.

They had entered the six-mile Tham Luang cave complex in Chiang Rai province after football practice, but became trapped when a heavy storm flooded a stream at the entrance to the cave.

Terror attack outside Parliament – 14 August

A man was arrested on suspicion of terror offences after three people were injured when a car crashed into security barriers outside Parliament.

The silver Ford Fiesta hit cyclists and pedestrians at 7.37am before crashing into the security barriers.

Jamal Khashoggi murdered – 2 October

Journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Saudi Arabia offered a number of different explanations for what happened in the weeks after his, but eventually settled on blaming a rendition squad that killed him in a rogue operation.

In December 2019, the country’s public prosecutor said five people have been sentenced to death over the killing.

Leicester City owner dies – 27 October

The owner of Leicester City Football Club, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, was among five people killed when his helicopter crashed outside the club’s King Power stadium.

He died when the aircraft fell from the sky after taking off from inside the ground following a 1-1 draw against West Ham.

California wildfires – November

Dozens of people were killed and thousands of homes destroyed in the deadliest wildfires in California’s history, which raged throughout November.

Celebrities including Miley Cyrus, Lady Gaga and Gerard Butler were among those affected.

End of First World War anniversary – 11 November

The 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War was marked by a wreath-laying ceremony at the Cenotaph.

On that day in 1918, world leaders signed the Armistice ending the war and its four years of bloody conflict.

John Worboys deemed not suitable for release – 18 November

The Parole Board ruled that convicted sex offender John Worboys – dubbed the Black Cab Rapist – must remain in jail.

Worboys had been approved for release earlier in the year but a court case brought by his victims overturned the ruling.

Academic sentenced – 21 November

British academic Matthew Hedges was sentenced to life imprisonment after being accused by the United Arab Emirates of spying for the government.

Less than a week later, he was pardoned with immediate effect.

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