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Year in pictures: From royalty to showbiz - the celebrity news highlights of the year

Emmy Griffiths
TV & Film Editor
December 24, 2018
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january ed sheeran engagement© Photo: Instagram

January

Congratulations to this pair! While Ed and Cherry have now strongly hinted they have tied the knot, they only announced their engagement back in January! Ed posted the sweetest photo of himself giving Cherry a kiss on the cheek on his Instagram page, writing: "Got myself a fiancé just before new year. We are very happy and in love, and our cats are chuffed as well xx." 

january kim kardashian surrogate© Photo: Instagram

January

Kim and Kanye announced the wonderful news that they had welcomed a third child, a baby girl named Chicago. At the time, the proud mum wrote: "Kanye and I are happy to announce the arrival of our healthy, beautiful baby girl. We are incredibly grateful to our surrogate who made our dreams come true with the greatest gift one could give and to our wonderful doctors and nurses for their special care. North and Saint are especially thrilled to welcome their baby sister." The pair's daughter was born on Monday 15 January and weighed 7lbs 6oz.

january me too movement award season© Photo: Getty Images

January

Following a slew of allegations made against powerful, famous men in Hollywood including Harvey Weinstein, Louis CK and Kevin Spacey, a huge group of high-profile stars including Reese Witherspoon, Kerry Washington and Emma Watson raised awareness for sexual harassment and sexual assault in a new movement supporting women. The campaign was a huge success, and encouraged discussion on how to stop sexual harrasment at work.

february kylie jenner baby© Photo: Instagram

February

The Keeping Up with the Kardashians star welcomed her first child – a baby daughter named Stormi - on 1 February. The beautiful newborn weighed 8lbs 9oz. The announcement also confirmed suspicions from fans that she was expecting after she disappeared from the public eye. Sharing a video of her pregnancy journey, she wrote: "I'm sorry for keeping you in the dark through all the assumptions. I understand you're used to me bringing you along on all my journeys. My pregnancy was one I chose not to do in front of the world... There was no gotcha moment, no big paid reveal I had planned. I knew my baby would feel every stress and every emotion so I chose to do it this way for my little life and our happiness." 

hello_karenclifton split© Photo: HELLO!

March

Karen and Kevin decided to separate back in March, and spoke about the situation with HELLO!. Karen said: "As performers with our fans and as a couple with our family, we have shared so much, so no matter what has happened, we can continue. Things don’t have to fall apart," Kevin added: "It was important to be honest about everything. I think there is a lot of pressure on people to be perfect all the time, and so there is this fairytale image of everything, but at the end of the day we are just like other people. We are just two people who love what we do and we never want to pretend to our fans or to anybody."

april ant mcpartlin apologises© Photo: Getty Images

April

Ant was sentenced to a £86,000 fine, and banned from driving for 20 months, after pleading guilty to drink driving during a hearing at Wimbledon Magistrates' Court. The 42-year-old TV presenter apologised for his actions, after causing a car crash while under the influence of alcohol, in a short statement after the sentence. Speaking to the crowd of reporters, he said: "I just want to say I'm truly sorry for what happened. Higher standards are expected of me, I expect them of myself... I'd like to apologise to everyone involved in the crash and I'm just thankful that no one was seriously hurt." 

april prince louis born© Photo: Getty Images

April

Prince William and Kate welcomed their third child, a baby boy, on 23 April. Little Prince Louis was born at the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital, and his happy parents greeted the crowds to show off their newborn before taking him home. Four days later, the pair announced his official royal moniker to be Prince Louis Arthur Charles. 

may meghan markle prince harry wedding© Photo: Getty Images

May

Who could ever forget the incredible wedding of the year? Prince Harry and Meghan tied the knot at St. George's Chapel in front of the royal family and Hollywood royalty including George and Amal Clooney, Oprah Winfrey and Priyanka Chopra. The beautiful couple then took a carriage procession through the streets of Windsor, where they waved to the huge crowds gathered to celebrate their beautiful day. 

july cheryl split first appearance© Photo: Rex

July

Cheryl announced that she and Liam Payne, parted ways in July. Taking to Twitter on Sunday night, the former Girls Aloud band member wrote: "We are sad to announce that we are going our separate ways. It's been a tough decision for us to make. We still have so much love for each other as a family. Bear is our world and we ask that you respect his privacy as we navigate our way through this together." Liam posted an identical message on his own Twitter account.

june meghan markle first trooping© Photo: Getty Images

June

Trooping the Colour is always a fun royal tradition, and this time Meghan joined the royal family on the balcony to watch the flyover, while joined by the Queen, Prince Charles, Prince William and Kate and the adorable youngsters, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Savannah and Isla Phillips. An adorable moment where Princess Charlotte copied the Queen's wave was also caught on camera, much to the amusement of the Duchess of Cambridge. 

july prince louis christening© Photo: Getty Images

July

The lovely Cambridge family were out in style for Prince Louis' christening in July! The royal family attended the afternoon ceremony at the Chapel Royal at St James' Palace, while Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall attended as guests along with Kate's family, Carole and Michael Middleton, Pippa and James Middleton, with Nicholas van Cutsem, Guy Pelly, Harry Aubrey-Fletcher, Lady Laura Meade, Mrs Robert Carter (nee Hannah Gillingham) and Lucy Middleton as godparents to baby Louis.

august aretha franklin funeral© Photo: Getty Images

August

The I Say a Little Prayer singer sadly passed away at her home in Detroit on Thursday 16 August following a long battle with pancreatic cancer. The star's publicist confirmed the news to the Associated Press. Her family released a statement, saying: "In one of the darkest moments of our lives, we are not able to find the appropriate words to express the pain in our heart. We have lost the matriarch and rock of our family."

september robbie ayda new baby© Photo: Instagram

September

Robbie Williams and Ayda Field welcomed their third child via surrogate in early September. The former Take That singer surprised fans when he revealed they had secretly welcomed a new addition to the family. He opened up about his second daughter to The Sun, saying: "Coco is the most chilled baby I've ever known. It's funny. The first baby you have, 'Shh, it's sleeping,' then you hear someone coming in that closes the door and you run downstairs and you go, 'Shh! The baby!' Then the third one, the television's on, the kids are playing, the dogs are barking, the baby stays asleep and the world doesn't end."

september declan donnelly baby© Photo: WENN

September

Dec and his wife, Ali, welcomed a beautiful baby girl on 3 September. Proud Dec announced the news on social media, writing: ‪"Ali and I are thrilled to announce the arrival of our baby girl, Isla Elizabeth Anne, who was born just after 9 o’clock this morning. Mother and daughter both doing well, Dad is head over heels! D x." Previously speaking to the Mirror at the BAFTA TV Awards, Dec said: "I just wish it would come out now, that we could fast-forward to having the baby. We want to get on with it – we can't wait."

october princess eugenie wedding© Photo: Getty Images

October

Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank were married in a stunning ceremony at St. George's Chapel. With a star-studded guest list and with Princess Charlotte, Prince George and Robbie Williams' daughter, Teddy, in the bridal party, royal watchers gathered in Windsor to wish the happy couple well. Eugenie was also praised for wearing a dress which displayed her scar from back surgery when she was a child. Speaking about her decision to show the scar, she told This Morning: "I think you can change the way beauty is, and you can show people your scars." 

october baby announcement royal tour© Photo: Getty Images

October

Six months after their beautiful wedding in May, Prince Harry and Meghan announced that they were expecting their first child together! Kensington Palace confirmed the happy news, writing: "Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are very pleased to announce that The Duchess of Sussex is expecting a baby in the Spring of 2019. Their Royal Highnesses have appreciated all of the support they have received from people around the world since their wedding in May and are delighted to be able to share this happy news with the public."

november rio ferdinand engaged© Photo: Instagram

November

Rio asked Kate to marry him in a stunning proposal on the top of the St. Regis Abu Dhabi hotel. In the beautiful snap, Rio and Kate appear to be posing on a helipad, and there to witness the magical moment were Rio's three children: Lorenz, Tate and Tia. The retired footballer revealed that his children were in on the secret. "She said yes," he wrote on Instagram. "How these 3 kids kept it a secret I'll never know." Kate shared the same incredible rooftop photo and captioned it: "The perfect end to our holiday ... How could the answer not be yes."

november prince charles birthday© Photo: Getty Images

November

Prince Charles marked his 70th birthday with two beautiful portraits of the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall surrounded by their family: the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with their three children and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The pictures were taken in the gardens of Prince Charles and Camilla’s home in September, and were taken by esteemed royal photographer Chris Jackson. Speaking about the portraits, he said: "I was delighted to have been asked to take these portraits of The Prince of Wales surrounded by his family to celebrate the important milestone of his 70 th Birthday." He added: "It was particularly special to capture such an informal and relaxed family portrait over a fun afternoon in the gardens of Clarence House." 

december priyanka wedding© Photo: HELLO!

December

Hollywood star Priyanka Chopra and American singer Nick Jonas married in a lavish three-day celebration over the first weekend of December at the majestic Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur. The couple held two ceremonies - Hindu and Christian - which saw Priyanka dress in a white custom Ralph Lauren gown for the Western ceremony, and a traditional red lehenga for the Hindu service that took place the following day. Speaking to HELLO! about her beautiful day, Priyanka said: "I think every girl dreams of being a princess on their wedding day," adding: "When Nick said to me that he wanted to marry his bride in her home, it melted my heart. Being able to have two big weddings in India with our closest family and friends was unbelievably special."

december holly willoughby harry redknapp im a celeb© Photo: Rex

December

After three weeks of loving his hilarious antics, anecdotes and Bush Tucker trials in the jungle on I'm a Celebrity, Harry was crowned king of the jungle, much to the delight of his fellow campmates, with Emily Atack taking second place and John Barrowman coming third. Fans were also delighted by Holly Willoughby's stint in the jungle, as she filled in Ant's shoes for the series while he focused on his recovery. 

december stacey dooley wins strictly© Photo: BBC

December

After being in the final FOUR times, Kevin Clifton finaly got to lift the Glitterball trophy with his celebrity dance partner, Stacey Dooley! The pair were thrilled with their win, and Kevin told Stacey: "Thank you so much... Thanks for being the most wonderful person. You're so lovely and I just think the absolute world of you, thank you so much." Stacey replied: "Kev, listen, you know how highly I think of you. I think you're the biggest gent. It's no coincidence he's been in the final as many times as he has. I've had the most incredible time. It's daunting, you feel silly, a bit of an idiot, but Kevin walks you through - you deserve this."

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