A look at some of the people who made the headlines in 2017.
January
Ivan Rogers, Britain’s ambassador to the EU, unexpectedly resigns, lifting the lid on tensions between No. 10 and the civil service over Brexit. Tristram Hunt becomes the latest centrist Labour MP to jump ship when he vacates his seat to become director of the V&A Museum. Donald Trump is inaugurated as the United States’ 45th president. His press secretary, Sean Spicer, sparks hilarity by insisting, against all evidence, that the event attracted record crowds. In a victory for the anti-Brexit campaigner Gina Miller (pictured), the Supreme Court rules that the Government can’t start the process of leaving the EU without parliamentary approval. Martin McGuinness steps down as deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland on health grounds; he dies two months later.
February
Hackers release a stash of private emails from David Beckham to his PR agent that undermine his image as a modest family man. In one email, sent after he was passed over for a knighthood, he allegedly called the honours committee a “bunch of c***s”. Kim Jong Nam, the half-brother of the North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, dies at Kuala Lumpur airport after being attacked by two women with VX nerve agent. Right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos loses his job at Breitbart when a clip of him defending sex between men and boys as young as 13 surfaces. Cressida Dick is appointed as the first female commissioner of the Metropolitan Police.
March
Jenni Murray, the presenter of Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, is reprimanded by the BBC for writing an article in which she argued that transgender women were not “real women”, because they had not had the shared experience of growing up female. Uber suffers a PR disaster when footage emerges of its boss, Travis Kalanick, swearing at an Uber driver who’d accused him of cutting fares. Khalid Masood murders four pedestrians and a policeman before being shot dead outside the Houses of Parliament. Philip Hammond unveils his first Budget, but is forced into a U-turn on his planned hike in national insurance contributions. Fears of a populist surge across Europe ease when Dutch voters fail to rally behind anti-immigrant extremist Geert Wilders. George Osborne is made editor of the London Evening Standard, to cries of disbelief in Westminster and Fleet Street.
April
Edward Enninful is named as the new editor-in-chief of British Vogue, the first man to take the job in the magazine’s 100-year history. Barry Manilow reveals that he is gay and that he has been in a relationship with TV executive Garry Kief for 40 years. To his delight, his fans are neither shocked nor upset. President Erdogan is accused of turning Turkey into an “elective dictatorship” when he narrowly wins a referendum granting his office sweeping new powers. As part of a campaign to open up debate about mental health, Prince Harry reveals that he had so bottled up his feelings about his mother’s death that he’d come close to a breakdown. The leader of the Liberal Democrats, Tim Farron, is repeatedly asked whether, as a born-again Christian, he regards gay sex as a sin. He cites the issue when he announces his resignation two months later. David Cameron reveals that he has spent £25,000 on a bespoke shepherd’s hut in which to write his memoirs. Theresa May hosts Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission president, for dinner at No. 10. A leaked account of the meal says Juncker accused the PM of being “delusional”.
May
Emmanuel Macron wins an emphatic victory in France’s presidential election, taking 66% of the vote to Marine Le Pen’s 34%, albeit on the lowest turnout in 40 years. Buckingham Palace announces that Prince Philip has decided, at the age of 96, to retire from public engagements. President Trump fires the director of the FBI, James Comey, in what pundits see as a counterproductive attempt to shut down an investigation into Russian collusion. A 22-year old suicide bomber, Salman Abedi, detonates a device in the foyer of the Manchester Arena, killing 22 concertgoers. Less than two weeks later, terrorists go on the rampage with a van and knives in London Bridge, killing eight people.
June
Theresa May’s election gamble backfires when her lacklustre campaign ends with the Tories losing their majority. Pilloried as the “Maybot”, the PM is forced to strike a “confidence and supply” deal with Arlene Foster, the DUP leader, and to shed her chiefs of staff, Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill. The poll is also punishing for the SNP leader, Nicola Sturgeon, while the Scottish Tories stage a fightback under Ruth Davidson. Meanwhile, Jeremy Corbyn declares that he is ready to form a government and receives a rockstar welcome at Glastonbury. On 14 June, a fire at Grenfell Tower kills 71 people. In the days that follow, thousands donate money and goods to a relief effort, while Theresa May comes in for intense criticism for failing to meet survivors. George and Amal Clooney celebrate the birth of twins, Alexander and Ella; a week later, fellow celebrity couple Beyoncé and Jay-Z follow suit, welcoming Rumi and Sir into the world.
July
A G20 summit hosts the first meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin; the pair chat for more than two hours. Brexit Secretary David Davis and his EU negotiating partner, Michel Barnier, also meet for their first round of substantive talks. The BBC ends its Wimbledon coverage by announcing the identity of the new Dr Who lead: Jodie Whittaker, the first female Time Lord. The broadcaster is later forced onto the defensive when it emerges that many of its best-known female stars, including Clare Balding, Emily Maitlis and Fiona Bruce, are paid far less than their male colleagues. The parents of Charlie Gard decide to end their campaign to take their critically ill baby to the US for experimental treatment, and to allow his life support to be withdrawn. Liu Xiaobo, the Chinese dissident, becomes the second Nobel Peace Prize laureate to die in custody.
August
A survey of Tory members prompts speculation about the leadership prospects of Jacob Rees-Mogg, the patrician MP for North East Somerset. Critics attribute the outbreak of “Moggmania” to the silly season. The former Vogue editor Alexandra Shulman, 59, posts a slightly unglamorous picture of herself in a bikini on holiday on Instagram – prompting an outpouring of messages on social media about her “brave” and “empowering” action. Labour MP Sarah Champion is forced to resign as shadow equalities minister over an article in The Sun in which she wrote that “Britain has a problem with British Pakistani men raping and exploiting white girls”.
September
Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning leader of Myanmar, is accused by many of her former admirers of turning a blind eye to a campaign of violence against her country’s Rohingya Muslims. Boris Johnson challenges the PM’s authority by offering his own bullish view of Britain’s post-Brexit future, days before May’s landmark speech in Florence on Brexit. In his maiden speech to the UN General Assembly, Donald Trump refers to North Korea’s Kim Jong Un as a “rocket man” who appears to be on a “suicide mission”. Kim then calls Trump a “deranged dotard”. The chief executive of Ryanair, Michael O’Leary, admits to a management “cock-up” after the airline is forced to cancel thousands of flights owing to too many pilots being on holiday.
October
Theresa May suffers a series of mishaps during her Tory conference speech, including a long coughing fit and the letters falling off the slogan behind her. Catalan separatists led by Carles Puigdemont go ahead with their illegal independence referendum, leading to the imposition of direct rule from Madrid. The New York Times publishes an exposé of Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein (pictured), triggering a sexual abuse scandal that implicates an ever-growing circle of public figures, including the actors Kevin Spacey and Dustin Hoffman. Kazuo Ishiguro wins the Nobel Prize in Literature. At its 19th national congress, China’s Communist Party confirms the leadership of President Xi Jinping for a second five-year term. Prue Leith accidentally reveals the winner of The Great British Bake Off before the final has been broadcast.
November
Michael Fallon resigns as Defence Secretary after being accused of making unwelcome advances to two female journalists. A huge leak of data from a Bermuda-based law firm exposes the financial affairs of numerous prominent individuals, including singer Bono and F1 driver Lewis Hamilton. A clumsy remark by Boris Johnson threatens to exacerbate the plight of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a British-Iranian woman held in Tehran on charges of spreading propaganda. Two months after Saudi Arabia grants women the right to drive, the new Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, orders the arrest of up to 500 public figures as part of an anti-corruption purge. The 37-year rule of Robert Mugabe comes to an end in Zimbabwe, along with the presidential ambitions of his wife, Grace. Germany is plunged into political chaos when Angela Merkel’s attempts to form a coalition government fall apart. Gerry Adams announces that he will step down as Sinn Féin leader after 34 years. Prince Harry pops the question to girlfriend Meghan Markle. Professor Dame Glynis Breakwell resigns as the University of Bath’s vice-chancellor after a row over her £468,000 salary.
December
The DUP temporarily derails Theresa May’s attempt to reach a deal on the terms of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. Donald Trump caps off a tumultuous year by first retweeting inflammatory anti-Muslim videos posted by a far-right British group and then announcing that the US will recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
