Table of contents for Issue 759 in Grazia

SELFIES, SQUADS, spiralisers… the last 10 years have been filled with fads. But there’s also been one resounding positive: a rise of women using their voice. This week’s issue pays tribute to some of them; from Phoebe Waller-Bridge (p12) to Lizzo (p64) and, significantly, all of you. On p46, Janice Turner writes that what will define this decade is that we’ve felt empowered to stand up for what we believe in. And thank you for signing our petition to end the use of the ‘rough sex’ defence. If you haven’t yet, read the piece by Grace Millane’s friends (p22) to find out how you can help. For now, have a restful Christmas break and see you on the 31 December! @hattie_brett / feedback@graziamagazine.co.uk…

Give yourself the gift of switching off “When a story exploded last week about a ‘cut-throat culture’ at luxury travel brand Away, it shone a light on the bad habits some of us fall into at work. An investigation by The Verge revealed an environment where staff were encouraged to work excessively long hours and discouraged from taking time off. It’s a reminder that, in 2020, we should all be more wary of slipping into ‘always on’ mode – where we reply to emails late into the night. This Christmas, switch off and make sure the only emails you send are to your aunt or in-laws to politely ask if they kept the receipt for that hideous jumper. As for us, this bumper issue is on sale for two weeks.…

The election is over – and rage dies hard. I’m worried that if the vicar calls for calm on Christmas Eve he will be attacked. No one seems to want to be calm any more. So how do we manage the season of goodwill to all – but not to Tories if you are Labour or to Labour if you are a Tory or to Leavers if you are for Remain, or to Remainers if you are for Leave? There are options. Only spend time with people you agree with, which is boring; only spend time with people you disagree with, which is dangerous. You will, as it is Christmas, probably spend time with people you sometimes agree with, and sometimes don’t, and you may lack the social skills to…

PHOTOS: SHUTTERSTOCK, SUPPLIED BY LMK, AVALON EVERY YEAR OR SO, a new name bursts into the cultural ether in a billow of stardust: Lizzo, Jodie Comer, Phoebe Waller-Bridge… Now it’s Francesca Hayward’s turn. She’s spent the past year hanging out with Taylor Swift, Dame Judi Dench, Jennifer Hudson and Idris Elba, thanks to her lead role in the film version of Cats. Last week, she was whisked to the US to appear on the Jimmy Kimmel show. Is Frankie going to Hollywood? ‘I’d definitely like to do some more film acting,’ she says. ‘Everyday it gets a bit more surreal,’ she says of her imminent global fame. She’s already well known as a principal dancer of the Royal Ballet. As Cats hits cinemas over Christmas, she’ll be at London’s Royal…

1. People get horny in the weirdest way. Blame the eggnog or just high Christmas spirits, but sex always gets freakier at this time of year. One patient got some nasty grazes after using sweet wrappers as an emergency contraceptive – after all, everyone knows a Twix fits – and another gave herself what I called ‘vaginaphylactic shock’ by using peanut butter as lube. ‘I thought I was only allergic to it “up there”,’ she said. Nope, this allergy had full coverage. 2. People are always inserting strange objects into themselves, but at Christmas it gets very specifically seasonal. I’ve extracted a full set of tree lights, like the world’s weirdest magician, and puzzled for hours over a woman suffering from thrush that was green, red, and… minty. Yep, she’d…

‘I love a Christmas playlist, could never get sick of it,’ says Lauren, when asked if she ever gets fed up of the requests to DJ in the festive period. But there’s no Mariah or Slade to be found. ‘I’ve got a few different things I like at Christmas,’ she says. ‘I love a bit of old-school Christmas swing and a kind of cocktaily, loungey ’60s sound, like a classy Christmas – I love a bit of that, a bit of Ella Fitzgerald. But I also have a fantastic Trojan reggae Christmas collection, and funk and soul at Christmas. I mean James Brown is a really obvious example but, you know, there are people like South Soul Orchestra and loads of different kind of great funk soul Christmas tunes.’…

Deep Horizon The explosion and oil spill from a BP underwater rig off the Gulf of Mexico is the largest in history, killing 11 and causing huge damage to marine life. Chilean miners Thirty three miners are trapped 2,300ft underground by the collapse of the San Jose copper mine. They are rescued after surviving for 69 days on rations of tuna, milk and biscuits. Haiti earthquake Up to 316,000 lives are lost when a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit Port au Prince, sparking a global appeal for aid. Icelandic volcano Flights are grounded and travel chaos ensues when a giant ash cloud from a sub-glacial volcano engulfs European air space. Naomi Campbell appears at The Hague The supermodel gives evidence at a UN war crimes tribunal after former Liberian President Charles…

Amanda Knox After nearly four years in an Italian jail, ‘Foxy Knoxy’ is acquitted of Meredith Kercher’s murder. Japanese tsunami The largest earthquake ever to hit Japan triggers a tsunami, 15,894 people are killed in a magnitude nine quake and a state of emergency is declared at the Fukushima nuclear power plant as reactors are damaged. London riots After the fatal police shooting of Mark Duggan, a family protest demanding justice ignites riots across the capital, resulting in five deaths. John Galliano After unleashing a torrent of racist and anti-Semitic abuse, Galliano is found guilty of ‘public insults’. He claims not to remember and is suffering addiction issues and is given a suspended s sentence and fine. Osama bin Laden America’s most-wanted terrorist is killed by special forces during a…

2012 NICOLA ADAMS AT THE LONDON OLYMPICS A black, working class, LGBTQ Northern Brit triumphs on the world stage in a discipline hitherto dominated by men, and things palpably shifted in the right direction. 2019 ANDY KING Breakout star of the genius Fyre Festival documentary. If we said, ‘Billy called and said we need you to take one for the team’ – would you know what we meant? 2010-2014 RYAN GOSLING’S HEY GIRL MEME Take a dreamy-but-accessible-looking movie star, mix in some left-leaning quasi-feminist captioning, and let lust prevail! 2012-current day VICKY McCLURE Her inscrutable, flawlessly complexioned, ideologically rigid DC Kate Fleming in the BBC’s Line Of Duty has proved most captivating. 2010 RYAN REYNOLDS People magazine’s sexiest man of the year, which seemed entirely reasonable to us, and that…

IN THE NOUGHTIES, the world’s most photographed women took their dresses in two ways: safe or sexy. There was nothing challenging about them, they were surefire hits made for Best Dressed lists (you wouldn’t want to get a rep as ‘difficult’). But this was the decade women bit back. Re-energised and newly confident, they refused to kowtow to the rules of conventional beauty in gutsy, boundary-pushing dresses made for showing personality, rather than simply looking ‘nice’ (see: Gaga’s meat dress). Who cares about being pretty when you could be powerful? Propelled by Insta – where a celebrity, just like the rest of us, can be the architect of their own image – this was the decade of the dress that said something. ‘We’ve had enough!’ was starkly written across the…

Baton Rouge protests The image of Ieshia Evans peacefully walking towards armed police circles the world. It’s part of a Black Lives Matter protest, after two African-American men are fatally shot on consecutive days. I ♥ TS Shortly after she splits from Calvin Harris, Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston enthral with their jet-set, whirlwind romance, which started at the Met Gala. The highlight of the three-month-fling is his commemorative vest top at her 4 July party. The bash – at her Rhode Island home, gives birth to #SquadGoals. Lorry attack in Nice ISIS step up their terror campaign across Europe when a lorry drives through a large crowd of people watching fireworks to mark Bastille Day, killing 86 and injuring over 400. Rio Olympics TeamGB shines at the carnival Olympics,…

PHOTOS: SHUTTERSTOCK, TWITTER/KIMKARDASHIAN, INSTAGRAM/BLACCHYNA, KIM KARDASHIAN, GETTY, CAMERA PRESS March 2009 Khloé gets a DUI. Kris begs, ‘Kim would you stop taking pictures of yourself? Your sister’s going to jail.’ (In 2013, ‘selfie’ is added to the dictionary.) 5 September 2009 Khloé marries Lamar Odom, 29 days after meeting him. What could possibly go wrong? (Spoiler: everything. Literally all of it.) March 2011 Kim unveils debut/ farewell single, Jam (Turn It Up). Despite thought-provoking lyrics (Turn me turn me turn me up! Yeah, yeah, yeah!), it fails to chart. August 2011 Kim releases fragrance, Kim Kardashian Love, in celebration of her 72-day marriage to Kris Humphries. Romance lives! December 2013 Lamar is found comatose in a Nevada brothel. Khloé denies using the incident to promote her book, Strong Looks Better…

Brett Kavanaugh Despite serious allegations of sexual assault (strenuously denied) by women including Christine Blasey Ford, Brett Kavanaugh is confirmed as a Supreme Court judge, giving Trump a majority on the bench. Thai cave boys Twelve teens and their assistant coach on the Wild Boars football team are trapped in Tham Luang cave by monsoon rains flooding their escape route. The operation to rescue them involves 10,000 people, including former Thai Navy Seal Saman Kunan, who is killed during the mission. Cambridge Analytica It’s revealed a data breach at Facebook allowed the misuse of personal data by Cambridge Analytica, which worked for the Trump campaign and with Brexit groups. Russian poisoning More than 100 Russian diplomats are expelled after the poisoning of double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia…

THE BREAKOUT STYLE STARS YOU MIGHT NOT have known their names at the beginning of this year, but the likes of Beanie Feldstein, Aidy Bryant and Lucy Boynton made sure they were noticed for all the right reasons in 2019. Euphoria stars Hunter Schafer and Barbie Ferreira have clearly been sharing style notes with co-star Zendaya, and Megan Rapinoe proves that when it comes to footballer style, the women do it better. Whether they’re doing alt-red carpet cool (Bel Powley, Rowan Blanchard) or megawatt glam (Jodie Comer, Adut Akech) – we can’t wait to see what this lot serve up next. LAJ AGELESS STYLE THE TWENTY-SOMETHINGS could learn a thing (or three) from these icons of the red carpet. J-Lo just gets more flawless, and toned, with every passing year,…

THE KACEY MUSGRAVES CHRISTMAS SHOW Stepping neatly into the country-pop hole left by Taylor Swift’s full ascension to divisive pop royalty, Ms Musgraves decks the halls with her own brand of superior C&W pizazz. The winner of this year’s Album of the Year Grammy will count 2019 as her annus mirabilis on the world stage. Here’s the seasonal singalong to round it off superbly. Netflix, now GAVIN AND STACEY For the first minute of seeing them together on screen once more, the sight of old besties James Corden (the irrepressible Smithy) and Mathew Horne (now harangued dad Gavin) doing the robot in the Shipman family porch is a bit like watching Justin Lee Collins gate-crash a 2019 Alan Carr show. It’s left to the boundlessly brilliant Welsh wing of Ruth…

Have your say… Email us at feedback@graziamagazine.co.uk ■ Post comments on graziadaily.co.uk ■ Tweet us at @GraziaUK ■ Find us on Facebook at Grazia UK ■ Follow us on Instagram @GraziaUK VOTES FOR VERNON! Polly Vernon should be standing for Parliament so that she becomes the Minister for the Enjoyment of Sex for Women (10 Dec). I have always loved sex and if we could bottle the way you feel and put that beside EHC in Boots, the world would be a kinder place. Sadly, my sex life is pretty dire these days, but I will always remember my delicious snog in the cloakroom at a Christmas night out a few years back with Santa Claus! GC SPREAD THE VIEWS Enjoyed your interviews this week and the fact you feature…

HERE’S WHAT we’re supposed to feel about Christmas. We’re supposed to feel joy, unrestrain’ed. Unashamedly, blissfully, cheesily sentimental. Loved and grateful. Sexy, if we’re single. Satisfied, if we’re not. Forgiving of those with whom we have shared beef. Charmed by our children. If we go back to our hometowns, we must come over all Chris Rea Driving Home For Christmas about it: restored and grounded, as if our fundamental sense of self has been rebooted, you know? If people come to ours, we must be bountiful, host-like. Here’s what we’re not supposed to feel about Christmas: weirdly lonely while in the company of so many people. Irritable – even though nothing bad has happened for a week (how could it? You’re not even at work. God! You miss work!). Nutritionally…

IF YOU WERE to look only at the shoes that dominated the last 10 years, you might assume that the 2010s was the decade that sex died. In footwear, what was hot was what was most definitely not. Clumpy trainers, hiking boots, camping sandals and, perhaps most unimaginably, Crocs united in their outright rejection of sexiness, all enjoyed their moment in the limelight. And if you were on-board, you’re in luck – the ugly shoe isn’t going anywhere. The latest evolution is the return of the clog – a shoe so unapologetically orthopaedic that even those of us who are normally steadfast in our dedication to dad styles might think twice about dipping our toes in. Leading the charge is LA-based designer Rosetta Getty, a woman renowned for her pared-back,…

PHOTOS: BACKGRID, GETTY, THE MEGA AGENCY, INSTAGRAM/DAVEMCCARY IT’S A SELFIE with which we’re all familiar: a beaming bride-to-be, newly acquired ring sparkling on her finger – the classic engagement announcement we tend to see a lot of at this time of year. But when Emma Stone announced her engagement last week, it started the countdown to one of the most A-list weddings of 2020. Emma – the Oscar-winning star of La La Land – has been dating Dave McCary, a segment director on US comedy show Saturday Night Live, since 2017. Their romance has been more low-key than some – they rarely attend red-carpet events together, although Dave was her plus-one to the Oscars – and Grazia understands that Emma is hoping to keep the ceremony similarly private. So much…

LAWYER-TURNED-AUTHOR Eve Rodsky is, to all intents and purposes, the real-life Legally Blonde. Between her Harvard law degree, golden tresses and rock-sized diamond sparkling on her left hand, the 42-year-old, who lives in Los Angeles with her financier husband and their three children, is living exactly the kind of life you might imagine Elle Woods to be enjoying some 18 years after she first taught a generation of girls to feel comfortable using legal jargon in everyday life. Oh, and it turns out Reese Witherspoon (who played Elle on screen) is an actual family friend. Now, judging by the reaction to Rodsky’s new book, Fair Play, which aims to revolutionise the domestic gender imbalance, she’s fast becoming a feminist icon to rival Woods herself. In the US, Fair Play has…

TWEAKMENTS Non-surgical cosmetic procedures like Botox, fillers, peels. Designed to make you look younger, but can make you look older. The workaround reason your childhood faves still look 35 and claim, ‘I’ve not had any surgery’ with a straight(ish) face. Brexit If you don’t know what it means, just think yourself lucky. See also: prorogue, remoaner, backstop. Woke It’s not enough to be awake to life 18 hours a day – now you have to be awake to issues too, especially on social media. A virtue – because if you’re not woke enough you could end up being… …CANCELLED Previously the preserve of events, people (mainly celebrities) can now be cancelled (ie, boycotted, but sounds less local paper) for not being woke enough. The main reason to keep your Spotify…

Gangnam Style Unknown South Korean artist Psy’s single only tops the UK charts for one week, but dominates dance floors and becomes the first YouTube video to reach a billion views. Girls Lena Dunham’s comedy drama hits screens, reinventing the female opening ceremony directed by Danny Boyle sees HM parachuting into the stadium alongside James Bond, ensemble and tackling friendship in a way not seen before. London 2012 A spectacular Olympics a Spice Girls reunion and an NHS love-in setting off a summer of national pride – and 65 GB medals. Harry Styles and Caroline Flack The age-gap relationship that gets us all talking – Harry and Caroline’s romance lasts just three months. The end of the affair is partly blamed on scrutiny around their 15-year age gap, with Flack…

Oscar Pistorius The former Paralympian is charged with the culpable homicide of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. He shot her after, he claimed, he mistook her for a burglar. He denies it was premeditated murder after rumours circulate about the state of their relationship. Same-sex marriage The act to legalise it receives royal assent, meaning marriages in England and Wales can go ahead from next year. Angelina’s double mastectomy The actor reveals she had surgery after a gene test showed she had an 87% chance of getting breast cancer, spreading worldwide awareness of screening. Malala Yousafzai The Pakistani schoolgirl shot by the Taliban is discharged from Queen Elizabeth Hospital. Cheryl’s tattoo The star makes headlines with an inking of roses that spreads from her lower back to her thighs. It reportedly took…

Bill Cosby New York magazine sparks a global conversation surrounding rape and shame with a cover showing 35 Bill Cosby accusers. The women sit alongside an empty chair which represents all the women who have not been heard or believed. The Bataclan attacks ISIS terrorists open fire across Paris, including at the Bataclan concert hall during a performance by US band Eagles of Death Metal, killing a total of 90 and wounding a further 200. 130 die across the city. Steak break Jeremy Clarkson is suspended by the BBC for attacking a producer over a steak sandwich. Hatton Garden theft The heist grips a nation after a gang – made up of mostly pensioners – attempt the largest burglary in English history, taking £200 million of jewels by drilling into…

1. Narcissism wasn’t invented this decade, but in 2013 it hit a whole new level when the Oxford English Dictionary made ‘selfie’ the word of the year – in large part thanks to Instagram. The app has turned a once embarrassing practice into something unremarkable – and some users post nothing else. Special mention for Kylie Jenner’s 2017 Met Gala mirror selfie, which raised the bar with multiple celebs (and one bathroom) in one shot. 2. If you were an early adopter, scroll down your feed now and cringe as you see your original posts, with their kitsch filters and borders. Instagram made it easy to tinker with your pics to your heart’s content – but nowadays we’re far more sneaky, tweaking contrast and brightness as discreetly as possible to…

PHOTOS: GETTY,SHUTTERSTOCK, INSTAGRAM/DIETPRADA, EVACHEN212, JASON LLOYD-EVANS UPS FASHION WAKES UP Progress but not perfection – fashion has made strides to be more inclusive. NEW POWER DRESSING From the Democratic women of Congress’s ‘own the room’ suits to Theresa May’s leather pants and Baroness Hale’s spider brooch, half the fun was decoding the hidden (or not) messages. And, no, we still don’t ‘get’ Melania Trump’s Zara jacket… do you? GREEN IS THE NEW BLACK Sustainability finally graduated from niche concern to a non-negotiable. SATELLITE FASHION WEEK CITIES Beyond the big four, smaller fashion weeks – held at cities like Copenhagen, Seoul and Lagos – also began to shape the fashion agenda. STREETWEAR REVOLUTION Let’s call it the Virgil effect. As in Abloh: the designer helped propel streetwear to luxury status, culminating…

DEATHS Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor A swaddled baby Archie, born on 6 May 2019, made his first public appearance at Windsor Castle where Meghan told reporters, ‘He’s been the dream.’ He is cousin to Kate and William’s trio: George, Charlotte and Louis. Blue Ivy Carter Beyoncé and Jay Z’s first child, born on 7 January 2012, may be the only person who’d tell her parents to calm down: during last year’s Grammys she went viral for seeming to shush them mid-applause. GONE TOO SOON Amy Winehouse The 27-year-old died in 2011 from alcohol poisoning. Tributes poured in from music world figures including Elton John, Lily Allen and Tony Bennett, who said he was ‘truly devastated’. Peaches Geldof The model and fashion columnist was just 25 when she died in 2014 of…

ULTIMATE EYE ENHANCER Dior Backstage Eye Palette in Amber Neutrals, £39, dior.com Twelve months and countless palettes later, it was this nine-part selection we knew would go the distance. With a silky primer that helps amplify pigments, and eight universally flattering shades (both shimmer and matte), this warm-toned palette hits the sweet spot. BEST-IN-SHOW MASCARA Estée Lauder Sumptuous Rebel Length + Lift Mascara, £26, esteelauder.co.uk Don’t underestimate this slinky wand – a single swipe delivers length like you wouldn’t believe. And you can forget about flaking and smudging – the long-wear formula held up under rigorous testing. GAME-CHANGING FOUNDATION NYX Born To Glow Foundation, £10, in 45 shades, boots.com The formula is light, the shade range extensive and the coverage medium, though you can build it effortlessly to full. Bravo,…

JESSIE J 31, SINGER-SONGWRITER THE PRICE TAG SINGER ON THERAPY AND VEGANISM PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK Home is everywhere, because I’m always on the road. But I have a place in London and a place in LA. My heart is London, but my stuff is in LA. When I wake up I’m like ‘Where am I?’ When I walk in the door, I want calm. I just try to tap into myself. I will often lie on the floor and just feel my body, because I can get into my head a lot and that’s really bad for anxiety. So I’ll try and pull my mind back into my body, and just be present with myself. That probably sounds crazy to some people but I don’t care. I’ll cook for anyone and…

OPTING OUT, STAYING IN If you’re a competitive person, you can go way over the top at Christmas (How competitive is your Christmas?, 10 Dec), I know I used to. Next year I am going to stay at home with my family. I know it’s a time for sharing and hospitality, but do I really want to spend it travelling to places I don’t want to go, or having people over who don’t really want to come? No. I’m going to pull up the drawbridge and it will stay shut until after Boxing Day. And I’m going to make sure the money I spend and presents I get have a purpose. Thanks for the pep talk. Kendra…

1 STAND OUT Try this fashion ed fave for unusual dresses. £248, Rotate Birger Christensen 2. It’s party time – so wear with nothing underneath. £595, Raey at matches fashion.com 3 Did someone say disco? Kick up your heels in these stunners. £39.99, Zara 4. PEARL JAM These beauties need a night out-out. £59, Uterqüe 5. Swap your novelty jumper for a pearl-encrusted knit. £24.99, H&M 6. All you need is a big personality blouse. This is it. £35.99, Mango 7. THE DRESS CIRCLE Have an arm party this Christmas. £345, Chlobo 8 Style with a polo neck and blazer combo. £119, Whistles 9 Works well with boots for day or sandals at night. £45, Topshop at Selfridges 10 PARTY ON Luxe up any outfit with this beaded bag. £309,…

PHOTOS: GETTY THIS YEAR’S OSCAR race could make history, because a couple may find themselves facing off for Best Director and Best Picture for the first time. Greta Gerwig’s smart take on Little Women has drawn rave reviews ahead of its Boxing Day release, while her partner Noah Baumbach’s heartbreaking, life-affirming Marriage Story (already on Netflix) has won him his best reviews ever. They’re both nominated for the US Critics’ Choice Awards, with more likely to follow. And they have done it all while juggling the arrival of their baby, Harold, who’s nine months old. So how did they become Hollywood’s coolest couple and deliver two of the year’s best films all at the same time? ‘They are kindred spirits,’ a source tells Grazia. ‘They read each other’s scripts, watch…

Emma met Dave in 2016, when he directed one of her scenes as part of a guest appearance on cult live comedy show Saturday Night Live. But he’s far from the only one on the SNL set to have found A-list love…. ■ Colin Jost is one of the show’s head writers, having originally joined in 2005. He started dating Scarlett Johansson after she hosted the programme in 2017, and the pair are now engaged. ■ Pete Davidson is one of SNL’s most prolific actors – when it comes to love, at least. He has dated Ariana Grande, Kate Beckinsale and Margaret Qualley, and is now with model Kaia Gerber. ■ Jason Sudeikis was one of the show’s favourite stars before moving on to films. He met actor Olivia Wilde…

THE DECADE, which slipped in like an apolitical lamb, roars out a radicalised lion. It ended with a tumbril moment: the queen’s own son forced to explain live on TV his connection to a known abuser of teenage girls. This summer, British cities were closed for weeks by Extinction Rebellion protesters demanding action on climate change; hundreds of thousands marched against austerity and Brexit. Not a day passes when we aren’t asked to sign a petition, donate, join a cause, help change the world. For perspective, let’s scroll back 10 years. In 2009, when lads mags Nuts and Zoo were in their zenith and lap-dancing clubs were springing up on every high street, I asked a focus group of bright 20-something women if they were feminists. ‘Nah,’ they replied as…

FOUR WEDDINGS. Eight babies.* A TV drama that has, so far, cost a rumoured £300m. Rows. Rumours. Exceptional hair. Think back to November 2010 when Buckingham Palace announced the engagement between Prince William and Kate. That was the watershed. Before then, we were interested. A decade on? We’ve become fixated, frothing from the sidelines as the new gen of royals has stepped up and into the glare. Kate’s had new highlights! Meghan’s wearing a hat! Not far off a million people now follow Gary Janetti’s Instagram account for his Prince George witticisms. I, and a disgracefully high number of people I know, will spend an entire evening discussing the latest snippet of Palace gossip (we love to see it). In short, we’re obsessed. Kate and William’s wedding in 2011 –…

This was the decade when we became obsessed with the idea of ‘the royal wardrobe’. Not since the days of Princess Diana has there been such an appetite for cataloguing what the royals wear. Websites dedicated to tracking Meghan and Kate’s sartorial prowess have sprung up, while both duchesses are now influencers in their own right. Meghan was 2019’s most powerful dresser, according to global search platform Lyst, with her outfits sparking a 216% increase in searches for similar pieces. None of this is surprising. After all, 1.9 billion tuned in to watch Meghan marry Harry. What is surprising, perhaps, is that the royals can still surprise us with what they wear. Take Kate’s violet pussy-bow Gucci blouse with Jigsaw trousers this May – it marked a more fashion-forward direction…

Boko Haram The Islamist group storms north-eastern Nigeria, abducting over 200 girls from their school. While some escape, many are sold or forced to convert and marry members of the organisation. Ebola The deadly virus spreads through Western Africa, killing more than 11,000. ALS Ice Bucket Challenge The campaign to raise awareness of ALS, also known as motor neurone disease, sees people challenge each other to throw buckets of iced water over their heads. ISIS After years of conflict in Iraq, Islamic State (ISIS) springs from the power vacuum created to become the most prolific and brutal terror group after al-Qaeda. Liftgate Footage emerges of Beyoncé’s sister, Solange Knowles, attacking her husband Jay Z in a lift at a Met Gala party. All three later release a joint statement saying…

Grenfell In the early hours of 14 June, a blaze engulfs the Grenfell Tower block in North Kensington, spreading rapidly and killing 72 residents and hospitalising 74 more. Inquiries are ongoing. Manchester attack The most deadly attack of the decade on UK soil sees a terrorist set off a suicide bomb at the Manchester Arena as thousands leave an Ariana Grande concert, killing 23, with the youngest victim, Saffie Roussos, just eight. The subsequent One Love Manchester concert, organised by Grande, raises £10m for victims. The Supers reunite Paying tribute on the 20th anniversary of Gianni Versace’s death, the brand’s Milan show sees Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, Carla Bruni and Helena Christensen stomp the catwalk alongside his sister, Donatella. Michelle’s side-eye At Trump’s inauguration, Michelle Obama’s side-eye becomes…

Halima Somali-American Halima Aden makes history as the first model to wear a hijab and burkini in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Notre-Dame The world watches in horror as the 12th century cathedral in Paris is severely damaged in a blaze – €1 billion is donated to help the rebuild, expected to be finished in 2024. Greta Thunberg The 16-year-old Swedish environmental campaigner comes to prominence, organising a global strike against climate change, sailing the ocean to summits and giving Donald Trump the death stare to end all death stares. London bus attack The nation is horrified by a shocking picture of Melania Geymonat and her girlfriend Christine Hannigan bleeding after a homophobic attack by four teenagers on a night bus. Lyra McKee The 29-year-old Northern Irish journalist is fatally…