The 10 Biggest Royal Moments Of 2018

1. Princess Charlotte starts nursery school

The year started off with some serious cuteness courtesy of Princess Charlotte, who started nursery school on January 8. The two-year-old royal was decked out in in red and pink, with a Cath Kidston ponies backpack, for her first day at Willcocks Nursery School. Kate snapped two photos of her daughter on the steps of Kensington Palace to share with the public. Unlike her brother Prince George — who only attended preschool part-time — Charlotte goes full-time. She is quite outgoing and apparently rules the royal roost at home, so it’s no surprise that the princess was ready to start going to school five days a week.

2. The Fab Four’s first event

Royal fans were eager to see William, Catherine, Harry and Meghan (a.k.a. the Fab Four) at their first official event together, and that day finally came on February 28. At the Royal Foundation Forum, the couples discussed their work and brought together different programs that they’ve spearheaded including Heads Together and the Invictus Games. Meghan was also able to talk about the areas she plans to focus on, including empowering girls and women. It was clear the quartet were already quite close, as they laughed and joked, with Harry remarking “we are stuck together for the rest of our lives.”

3. Prince Louis’s birth

April 23 was a whirlwind of a day. Early in the morning, Kensington Palace announced that the Duchess of Cambridge had been admitted to St. Mary’s Hospital in the beginning stages of labour. And then, at 11:01 a.m. U.K. time, we had a new prince, weighing in at 8 pounds, 7 ounces. A few hours later, William ducked out to get George and Charlotte, who were matching in blue to meet their baby brother. Seven hours after he was born, we finally got to meet Louis. The little royal slept through most of his debut, but it looked like he gave a wave to the cameras at one point. And Kate, resplendent in a red Jenny Packham dress, was beaming as she held her youngest baby. William and Catherine took a little longer than normal to announce their son’s name. But four days after his birth they revealed they were calling him Louis Arthur Charles.

4. Meghan and Harry get married

The days leading up to the royal wedding were… chaotic, with Meghan’s father getting caught staging photos with the paparazzi, then needing to have heart surgery and not being able to walk his daughter down the aisle. But once Prince Charles agreed to walk Meghan down the aisle, everything that followed was straight out of a fairy tale. There were so many beautiful moments, including Meghan stepping out of the car at the chapel, revealing her stunning, nearly 5-metre-long veil which featured the 53 flowers from all the Commonwealth countries, as well as wintersweet, which grows outside the couple’s house, and the poppy to represent her home in California. Or how Prince Harry picked several flowers from their private garden outside their house to add to Meghan’s bridal bouquet. Who didn’t well up at Bishop Michael Bruce Curry’s powerful address about the power of love? And finally, Princess Charlotte genuinely stole the show when she couldn’t stop waving at the adoring crowds.

5. The balcony scene-stealers

The Queen’s official birthday celebration occurs every year in June at Trooping the Colour, where the royal family gathers on the balcony at Buckingham Palace to watch the fly-past by the Royal Air-Force. But this year no one really noticed Meghan or Kate because Prince George and his seven-year-old cousin Savannah were up to some silliness. There was giggling, fake music conducting and the moment everyone was talking about — when Savannah covered George’s mouth when he was talking during “God Save the Queen.” George then broke into a fit of laughter and a GIF was born.

6. Prince Louis’s christening

Prince Louis was christened on July 9 at St. James's Palace, marking the first time we saw the Cambridges as a family of five — and what an adorable crew they were. Kate was beaming and wearing cream Alexander McQueen as she walked into the chapel holding her son, who she said was “very relaxed and peaceful” that day. In the official portraits, Charlotte was holding her baby brother’s hands showing that she is clearly thriving in her role as big sister.

7. Princess Eugenie and Jack get married

“Oh my heart, oh break my heart,” Jack said upon seeing Princess Eugenie enter the chapel. Many wondered if the second royal wedding would pale in comparison to the first, but it did not — Eugenie’s Peter Pilotto and Christopher De Vos gown was easily one of the most memorable royal wedding gowns ever thanks to its open back and lack of veil, both chosen to show off the bride’s scoliosis scars. And let’s not forget that stunning emerald tiara that has never been worn by anyone in the royal family before — excellent choice, Eug! Then there was the groom wearing his glasses so he could see every detail of his bride when she arrived and, of course, the mischievous bridal party including Prince George and Savannah who were back at their antics again.

8. A royal baby on the way

When Meghan Markle wore a suspiciously loose-fitting navy Givenchy coat to Eugenie and Jack’s wedding, people started speculating… is she pregnant? A few days later on October 15, Kensington Palace announced that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were expecting a baby in the spring of 2019. Later that day, the couple kicked off their royal tour in Australia and Meghan wore a white Karen Gee sheath dress appropriately named “Blessed.”

9. The banana bread

Prince Harry and Meghan’s 16-day tour of Australia, Tonga, Fiji and New Zealand was full of amazing and fashionable moments, but our favourite was when the duchess brought homemade banana bread to the Woodley family at an engagement in Dubbo. Meghan had made it the night before in the kitchen of Admiralty House, where the couple was staying in Sydney. Meghan told the family “if you go to someone’s house you always bring something.” So she brought banana bread and tea. The palace would not reveal the recipe, but apparently the secret ingredients were chocolate chips and a bit of ginger.

10. Prince Charles turns 70

On November 14, Prince Charles turned 70 and had a glitzy bash in the state rooms of Buckingham Palace thrown by his mummy, the Queen. Of course all his family was there, but there was also royalty from across Europe in attendance to fete the future king. Ahead of his birthday, the heir to the throne took part in a TV interview along with his sons, where William revealed that he wished his dad didn’t work so much so he could spend more time with his grandkids. And Harry talked about the moment he asked his dad to walk Meghan down the aisle and Charles said “Yes, of course, I'll do whatever Meghan needs, and I'm here to support you.” And let’s not forget the candid family photos that were released showing Prince Charles surrounded by his kids, their wives and his adoring grandkids — a peek into the future of the monarchy.