From Meghan Markle to Brexit: Laura Craik on the biggest events of 2017

From the rise of The Donald to the heralding of a new princess, Laura Craik looks back on the year that was (and tries not to mention ‘B**x*t’ more than once)
ARRIZAB/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock
Laura Craik21 December 2017

JANUARY

Donald Trump became leader of the free world

On 20 January, the erstwhile reality TV star became the 45th President of the United States.

The last time we looked, he was still there. And so was his Twitter account. And so was Tel Aviv. For now.

CJ GUNTHER/EPA/REX/Shutterstock

We marched for women’s rights

Hundreds of thousands protested peacefully in London (below) as part of a series of Women’s Marches that took place worldwide. It was the largest single-day protest in US history: in London, it saw women, men, children and the LGBTQ community come together in an event highlighting women’s, reproductive and LGBTQ rights, racial equality, immigration and healthcare reform.

Women's marches around the world

1/13

A new human organ was discovered

How’s your mesentery doing? You didn’t know you had one? Neither did God. Well, He probably did, but nobody else. In January scientists discovered the 79th organ that connects the intestines to the abdominal cavity. It’s emesentery, my dear Watson. Soz.

Boxing classes became the new cycle classes

In London, it was all about getting ready to rumble, not ride.

Getty Images

FEBRUARY

The Oscars were talked about for all the wrong reasons

It’s easy to do. I mean, they sound quite similar. La La Land, Moonlight… okay, they don’t. In February, poor Faye Dunaway took the global flack for PricewaterhouseCooper’s monumental error of handing the wrong envelope to her co-presenter, Warren Beatty, in what was the biggest flub in awards-show history. Better luck next year, guys.

Kaia Gerber started modelling

Kaia Gerber - Style File

1/49

And swiftly became the most in-demand face of the autumn/winter season.

Everyone became a David Hockney expert

If you didn’t have a convoluted opinion about ‘the Hockney’, you were no one, as record numbers piled into Tate Britain to view the largest-ever exhibition (right) of works by Britain’s greatest living artist. February’s hot ticket was the fastest-selling exhibition in the museum’s history.

MARCH

Brexit happened. Or started to

If we have to mention it, then let’s get it out of the way, fast. On 29 March, the Government invoked Article 50 of the Treaty on the European Union, beginning the long, tortuous, divisive, depressing process of leaving the EU.

MacDiarmid/REX/Shutterstock

The internet lost its s*** over Marion

March was brightened up considerably when a video clip went viral of four-year-old Marion and her toddler brother, James, bursting in on their father, Professor Robert Kelly’s, live broadcast on BBC News. The family (top) became instant celebrities. Always remember to lock the study door, people. And always remember that the woman who crawls in on all fours trying to retrieve the kids isn’t necessarily their nanny, just because she looks East Asian.

APRIL

Fashion began to embrace diversity

There were more black, Asian, Hispanic and Indian models on the catwalk at the international fashion weeks this year (though still not enough), while The Fashion Spot reviewed 187 autumn/winter fashion advertising campaigns and found that of the 457 models cast, more than 30 per cent were non-white. No pats on the back are due until that number rises, but it’s a start. Helmut Lang, Sisley and Marc Jacobs featured trans models on their catwalk or in their campaigns, and there were also more instances of more mature, 50+ models fronting campaigns. Meanwhile, the highest-earning model of 2017 wasn’t Gisele, but plus-size beauty Ashley Graham (right).

Getty Images for Glamour

MAY

It was close. Verrrry close

But after French voters returned to the polls for a run-off, Emmanuel Macron pipped Marine Le Pen to the post as the new President of France, earning 66.1 per cent of the vote and becoming the youngest head of state since Napoleon. Of more interest to the world was the age of his wife, Brigitte (both right), who is 24 years older than him. Having met when Macron was 15, their enduring relationship proves that where love is concerned, age ain’t nothing but a number.

Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images

JUNE

Our city endured unspeakable tragedy and rallied to help

Grenfell: not forgotten. Never forgotten. The final death toll stands at 71 but there is nothing final about the grief and loss experienced by the families and friends of the victims. There are no adequate words to express the horror that unfolded on the night of 14 June; the actions of the west London — and wider — community in its aftermath are easier to describe. Boundless? Selfless? Generous? Ongoing? All these things and more.

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Ariana Grande became an unlikely heroine

Twenty-two people lost their lives and 59 were injured after a suicide bomber exploded his belt at Grande’s concert in Manchester on 22 May. In June, the singer (below) returned to host a benefit gig that saw Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus and Coldplay perform to a crowd of 50,000. Highlights included a surprise performance by Liam Gallagher, and Grande’s mother, Joan, walking through the audience telling people, ‘Don’t be afraid’. The day after the One Love concert, the British Red Cross reported that it had received more than £10m in donations.

Love Benefit/REX/Shutterstock

JULY

Wimbledon won us over

Twenty-eight tons of strawberries, 10,000 litres of cream and 320,000 glasses of Pimm’s were quaffed at Wimbledon — oh, and some tennis was played, too, which those not too busy rubbernecking Bradley Cooper, Eddie Redmayne, Sienna Miller, Anna Wintour, the Beckhams and the Middleton sisters even managed to watch for a while. Defending champion Andy Murray (inset) went out in the quarter-finals, leaving the way clear for Roger Federer to win for a record-breaking eighth time.

AUGUST

GBBO finally resurfaced on Channel 4.

Despite initial gnashing and wailing, the nation survived this painful transition and even managed to concede that new presenter Noel Fielding was ‘not bad, actually’. Though clearly no Mary Berry.

Sir Mo Farah bossed it

He stormed to his third world 10,000m gold, took home 5,000m silver, and won the final race of his career — not to mention receiving a knighthood from the Queen.

Getty Images

The fashion industry became more #woke

Whether it was model Adwoa Aboah’s pioneering platform Gurls Talk or Halima Aden becoming the first hijab-wearing model on the Milan catwalk, the most fashionable thing in fashion this year was a cause. Here’s hoping 2018 proves that fashion can affect more significant change than that merely confined to skirt length.

SEPTEMBER

Rihanna showed the beauty industry how it should be done

She was the most-streamed female artist of 2017, and didn’t even have a new album out. In September, she launched Fenty Beauty in 17 countries simultaneously, which was lauded instantly for its genuinely inclusive products — not least a foundation that comes in 40 different skin tones. According to YouTube, 132 million people watched Fenty Beauty make-up tutorials in September alone.

Getty Images for Fenty Beauty

OCTOBER

Stranger Things 2 didn’t disappoint

At last! It came back with a bang and a longer, curlier hairstyle for Eleven (top), along with news that there will be a Stranger Things 3. Winona Forever. Or at least through 2018.

Events in Hollywood made headlines

The Weinstein scandal broke with Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan the first actresses to go on record with details of producer Harvey Weinstein’s alleged abuse. In the following weeks, Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow and Cara Delevingne also spoke out about the sexual harassment they allegedly experienced at Weinstein’s hands. Weeks later, several men came forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against actor Kevin Spacey.

Instagram went mega

In October, Instagram reached 300 million daily active Stories users, far surpassing Snapchat. No prizes for guessing what the year’s most-liked post was: a pregnant Beyoncé (left), posted on 1 February and still ratcheting up ‘likes’ in excess of 11 million. It’s heartening to know that the most popular Instagram hashtag of the year wasn’t #OOTD or #selfie but #love.

We developed a strange obsession with a gender-changing fish

The year’s most-watched programme wasn’t Strictly: it was Blue Planet II, attracting 1.7 million more viewers than the ballroom behemoth’s top episode. Who knew that 14.01 million people would be gripped by the sight of a hagfish (right)? Who even knew hagfish were a Thing? Sir David Attenborough, we love you.

NOVEMBER

Prince Harry’s getting married

‘For the love of God — and Britain — can 2017 pleeeeease be the year you finally settle down,’ we can imagine the Queen telling her grandson over Earl Grey and scones, or whatever it is they eat when they’re together. ‘Our country needs some cheering up, and a wedding is just the thing to do it.’ As if by magic, Meghan Markle appeared, as perfect a partner as anyone could ever have wished. She’s a feminist. She’s an activist. She’s a former actress who dresses with natural aplomb. She wears ripped jeans even though she’s engaged to a prince. She has an easy manner and a winning smile. Everyone loves her. Even the corgis. Everything she wears sells out, and sales of nude lipstick are up 61 per cent in Britain due to ‘the Markle effect’. Megha.

Tim Rooke/REX/Shutterstock

DECEMBER

The force was with us

Much excitement in the capital when the new Star Wars film, The Last Jedi, premiered, not least because the after-party was held at Kensington Palace and featured the unexpected spectacle of Prince William (left) wearing a dashing pair of velvet slippers. No Carrie Fisher fan could fail to feel emotional at the actress’s posthumous final appearance in the film as Princess Leia, with some of her lines painstakingly created by the sound team.

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