amount of cloud in the skies. goodbye. hello, this is bbc news. the headlines: the government has defended its decision to award a £14 million contract to a shipping company with no trading record as part of its preparations for a possible no—deal brexit. britain and france have agreed to implement what they're calling an "enhanced action plan" to prevent migrants crossing the english channel on small boats. the main opposition alliance in bangladesh has described today's general election as "farcical" and has demanded a fresh vote. a british couple whose son was murdered by his chinese wife have won custody of one of their grandchildren after a long legal battle. now on bbc news, from harry and meghan‘s wedding to prince charles‘ 70th birthday, daniela relph looks back at the royal year in review 2018. cheering.

a picturesque windsor wedding for prince harry and meghan markle as they became the duke and duchess of sussex, cheered on by thousands during their carriage procession through the town. band plays. the queen had a president to tea as she kept up a busy schedule at the age of 92.

can i ask you tojoin me in wishing the prince of wales a very happy birthday. for the prince of wales, a milestone birthday. a 70th for an heir to the throne who has waited longer than any other. and there was a new grandchild for charles in his new birthday year. prince louis of cambridge, fifth in line to the throne. back in february she was stilljust meghan markle, but was settling into life with her new royal family. this was her first official engagement alongside her husband—to—be and future brother—and—sister—in—law. and the newcomer did not hold back, describing the issues that matter to her. you often hear people say you're helping women find their voices

and i fundamentally disagree with that because women don't need to find their voice, they have a voice, they need to feel empowered to use it and people need to be encouraged to listen and i think right now in the climate we are seeing, as so many campaigns, metoo, time's up, there's no better time than to really continue to shine a light on women feeling empowered and people really helping to support them. men included in that. it is a family enterprise and they all recognise that at times that can be tricky. working as family does, of course have its challengers, of course it does. everyone is laughing, which means everyone knows exactly what this is like! laughter but you know, we are stuck together for the rest of our lives. this is true, togetherness at its finest. togetherness. meghan markle said she wanted to hit the ground running, to get to know the uk ahead of her wedding.

and that's exactly what she did. in scotland, meghan nervously met a shetland pony at edinburgh castle. in wales they even met another harry and meghan. these two were six and nine years old and gave a gift of welsh love spoons. in northern ireland there was a visit to one of belfast‘s most well—known pubs for lunch and a guinness. the climate wasn't exactly californian, it did, though, give meghan a flavour of the country that was now home. but it was windsor that would play the most significant role, the american bride was about to get her perfect british wedding and it was here, at st george's chapel, that meghan markle would officially make the move from actress to aristocracy. yay! # going to the chapel and we're

going to get married #. the night before the big day, the groom and his best man came out to meet the crowds in windsor. many had camped out for several days. and there was also the odd familiar face in the crowd. harry! it was a quieter evening for the bride and her mother. reporter: good evening, miss markle, how are you feeling tonight? in the peace of the berkshire countryside they spent the night before the wedding at a hotel a few miles from windsor. st george's chapel was transformed. ready for an event that would make it the centre of global attention. the british weather was at its best. it would be hard to find a more picturesque setting. by royal standards this was a glitzy group of wedding guests. clooneys and beckhams amongst

the most well—known faces. the cast of suits was also invited. the tv show that the bride had worked on for several years. inside the chapel, oprah winfrey and idris elba were there with charity workers, friends of harry and meghan and the royal family. royal trumpeters play. but it was the bride that everyone wanted to see. cheering. with all the guests in place, meghan markle was driven through the grounds of the castle to the chapel. bells ring. at midday she emerged

into the windsor sunshine, her dress a secret until now. by british designer claire wade kellerfor the french fashion house givenchy. sewn into the veil, flowers from each country of the commonwealth. the minute the bride walked into the chapel was enough to make a pageboy gasp. choirboy sings. at first, she walked alone, accompanied by her pageboys and bridesmaids including prince george

and princess charlotte. and then, at the halfway point, she was joined by prince charles. taking on the role after her father was unable to attend. for meghan‘s mother, it must have been an overwhelming experience. doria ragland was the only member of the bride's family at the wedding. as she reached the altar, harry told his bride, "you look amazing." and as the wedding ceremony began, he lifted her veil. this was a royal wedding that veered from the traditional. there was a gospel choir. # darling, stand by me.

# stand by me #. and, perhaps one of the most memorable moments, the preaching of american bishop michael currie. love is not selfish and self—ce ntred, love can be sacrificial. and in so doing, becomes redemptive. a royal wedding had never seen or heard anything quite like it. prince charles took the mother of the bride's arm as they left to sign the register, a gesture that said, welcome to the family. cellist 19—year—old sheku kanneh—mason gave the biggest performance of his career.

they had arrived as meghan markle and prince harry. they left as the duke and duchess of sussex. a title given to them on their wedding day by the queen. cheering. as the new duke and duchess emerged from st george's chapel, there was the kiss. cheering. # amen. # amen #. they said they wanted to share their wedding

with the public. the carriage procession through windsor was part of that plan. thousands lined the long walk. it looked as if they had got the wedding day wished for. i feel as though i'm in a dream. it's been unforgettable. it's been absolutely exhilarating. i'm a guy, i couldn't comment on the dress but she looked stunning as she went past. it was amazing to see the people arriving and leaving. it was like a really special memory. the final chapter of the wedding day, the evening reception. the couple left in an e—type jag for a private party that was rumoured to include a speech by the bride and a dance

off amongst members of the royal family. just weeks after the wedding was another american visitor here causing a stir. president trump came to have tea with the queen. he brought with him all the trappings of the us presidency, the queen of course, had seen it all before. he was the 12th american president she had met during her reign. it wasn't a full state visit but there was plenty of pomp to please the president and first lady. american national anthem. as well as a show from the military band, the president inspected a guard of honour. he described the tea as going ‘fantastically well‘, and he said that he and the queen had ‘good chemistry‘. and there were signs of good

chemistry elsewhere. in february the queen took up a prized front row seat at london fashion week. alongside vogue editor in chief anna wintour whose glasses did not come off, even for the queen. the pair watched a show of richard quinn who was the winner of the first—ever queen elizabeth ii prize for british design. but although she still has a busy schedule, here, leading the centenary celebrations of the royal air force injuly, she travelled far less around the uk... ..and no longer does trips overseas. but in april, the world came to her.

as she welcomed commonwealth leaders to the uk for the heads of government meeting. addressing the leaders she looked ahead to a time beyond her reign and made it clear that she wanted her son to succeed her as head of the commonwealth. it is my sincere wish that the commonwealth will continue to offer stability and continuity for future generations and will decide that one day, the prince of wales should carry on the important work started by my father in 1949. it was a decision supported by commonwealth leaders, in a year when there were further subtle signs of the queen handing duties over to other members of the family. big ben chimes. once again, on remembrance sunday, 100 years since the end

of the first world war, the queen watched events from a balcony nearby. the last post sounds. the prince of wales laid a wreath of poppies on her behalf at the cenotaph. the focus of remembrance. in the evening at westminster abbey the queen stood alongside the president of germany...

as their wreaths were laid on the tomb of the unknown soldier. to include germany in this way during remembrance was an historic act of reconciliation. there was also a rare nod this year to the hereditary destiny of the prince of wales. he will, one day, be king, and as he celebrated his 70th birthday in november he gave a sense of how he would reign. just days after watching his youngest son get married, the prince of wales hosted a garden party at buckingham palace to mark his 70th birthday. 6000 people attended, representing his charities and military affiliations. but on a personal level there was also a chance for a son to pay tribute to his father.

please can i ask you tojoin me in wishing the prince of wales a very happy birthday, six months ahead of his 70th, how very royal! his birthday saw the release of some new family photographs. one, a relaxed but traditional portrait of the prince with his wife, sons and their families. and then, a more informal picture, again in the gardens of clarence house, that leaves you wondering what they were all laughing at. just before his birthday, the prince and duchess of cornwall toured west africa. visiting nigeria, ghana and the gambia. as ever, with royal overseas tours, it was about strengthening ties with the uk. in his 70th year, prince charles has continued to speak out on the issues he cares most deeply about. but in an interview with the bbc

to mark his birthday, he clarified that as king, he wouldn‘t campaign in the same way. i‘m not that stupid. i do realise that it is a separate exercise being sovereign. as charles takes on more high—profile duties, his father continued his step back from public life. here, just a fleeting view of the duke of edinburgh leaving hospital in april after a hip replacement at the age of 96. the duke recovered well enough to see two of his grandchildren married this year, after harry and meghan came eugenie and jack. in october princess eugenie married her long—term partner jack brooksbank. the daughter of prince andrew and sarah duchess of york also chose st george‘s chapel in windsor for her wedding ceremony. the couple then had a short carriage procession through the town before heading back to the castle to party with their 800 wedding guests. the duke of cambridge has found

himself taking on more significant royal duties this year. his trip to israel and the palestinian territories was the first official royal visit to the region. for william, it was his most diplomatically delicate tour to date. he used the visit to share his hope that conflict in the area will end. never has hope and reconciliation been more needed. i know i share a desire with all of you and with your neighbours for a just and lasting peace. back home, the duke and duchess of cambridge had a new addition to the family to celebrate. prince louis was born

in april, their third child. his first public appearance came just hours after his birth. as with princess charlotte, the duchess had her baby and left hospital all on the same day. earlier, louis had his first visitors. his big brother and sister came to the hospital with dad. george, looking a little shy in front of the cameras. charlotte, though, showed no such reticence, with a wave as she went in to meet her baby brother. the family will base themselves here at kensington palace. but in the new year they will say goodbye to their neighbours the duke and duchess of sussex. harry and meghan will leave london to set up home at frogmore cottage in windsor, with their own baby due in the spring. it is an important moment for william and harry, who have lived close to one another here and shared a household

and royal duties for so long. although they, along with catherine and meghan, will continue to work on certain projects together, it is a departure and a sign that both couples have their own interests to proceed. i‘ve done marshmallow on that one, is that a good idea? events with military charities are likely to be supported by both families, and kensington palace was turned into a winter wonderland to do that. the duke and duchess of cambridge hosted a party for families of military personnel serving in cyprus over the festive period. with a bit of christmas baking and a chance to hear the families‘ stories. but the duchess, the experience of many here was one for the duchess, the experience of many here was one she could share. as someone whose husband has served i know how hard it feels when a loved one leaves home to do the job they have trained for. when william served

in the falklands or for search and rescue, i remember how it felt. but i can‘t imagine how it feels when your loved ones are away on active service over christmas. or at those special family moments. the absence of people you love must be especially hard at this time of year. for the duke of cambridge there was a surprise visit to a west london school with rapper professor green. it was part of the royal foundation‘s ongoing work around mental health and in particular cyber bullying. it was a chance to listen and talk to teenagers and hear their online concerns. if you‘re outside here, whatever you‘re doing, one of your mates gets picked on, you‘re going to be there to support them, but if it‘s happening on a screen and you can‘t see what‘s going on, that‘s one person very isolated on their own. the coming months will give us a sense of what kind of working royal meghan wants to be. here she took her mother and husband to the launch of the cookbook, the proceeds of which will go towards helping those affected

by the grenfell tower tragedy. the duchess was the driving behind the publication, alongside the local community. working on this project the past nine months has been a tremendous labour of love. i had recently moved to london and i felt so immediately embraced by the women in the kitchen, your warmth and kindness and also to be in this city and see in this one small room, how multicultural it was, on a personal level i feel so proud to live in a city that can have somewhat diversity, have ——so much diversity, 12 countries represented in this one group of women is pretty outstanding. in the autumn harry and meghan began their first overseas tour to australia, new zealand, tonga and fiji. for harry, it was a chance to support the invictus games held in sydney, the event for injured servicemen and women he built. and for meghan, her engagement strongly hinted at where she would focus her royal work, the education and empowerment of young women appears high on her agenda.

here, she spoke at a university in fiji. when girls are given the right tools to succeed, they can create incredible futures, not only for themselves, but for all of those around them. and while progress has been made in many areas across the commonwealth, there is always scope to offer more opportunities to the next generation of young adults and specifically, to young women. harry and meghan, their wedding, the family dynamic and the news of their own baby due in the spring as dominated 2018. it‘s likely to be a similar story next year. as this growing royal family adjusts to its new arrivals. did evening. the final weekend of

2018 has been pretty dry, fairly cloudy and rather mild, too, with high pressure in charge of things. this was the fairly serene scene as the in hereford, taken earlier in the in hereford, taken earlier in the evening. we have some clear spells around through the rest of tonight, but high pressure with light winds means we could well see some low cloud, mist and fog patches developing, particularly in the south. still milder air, you can see the yellow colours here, but the blue colours to the north will become at future as we head through the first week of 2019. abu tonight, variable amount of cloud, some mist and fog patches developing, especially in the south, where we have lighter winds. but for most of us have lighter winds. but for most of usa have lighter winds. but for most of us a frost free night, temperatures generally hovering around 5 degrees. first thing monday morning, new year‘s eve, another largely cloudy and grey day but there will be some

sunshine breaking through, particularly for eastern scotland, southern and eastern england, perhaps northern ireland. you will notice a bit of rain arriving across the north—west of scotland, though it will tend to become quite light and patchy as it sinks south into the evening, but we can‘t rule out one 01’ the evening, but we can‘t rule out one or two spots of rain through the central belt as we look towards new year. but for most of us, new year‘s eve does look mostly dry, pretty cloud and mr bob patches overnight, too. but this high pressure will drive our weather on into tuesday, we tried pushing its way south, which will introduce them slightly cooler air across northern and eastern areas. you can see a change in wind direction, wind starting to come from the north and north—east later on tuesday. but also more sunshine on offer. after a cloudy few days, newsday, if you‘re planning to go out for a walk, most of us should be furthered like that the bright. a lot of that of cloud

later on. capture wise, as was still in double figures in the south but 7-9 in double figures in the south but 7—9 in the north, and quite chilly tuesday night. the blue covers return to the map and will start a season return to the map and will start a season frosty conditions once again. looking to the start of 2019, things turning colder, frost returning but more sunshine and it will stay dry for most. goodbye. this is bbc world news today with me, karin giannone. our top stories. the opposition in bangladesh calls for fresh elections, saying the governing party has manipulated today‘s poll. "judge me on what trump didn‘t do" — the outgoing white house chief of staffjohn kelly gives his view on his time in the white house. polling has officially closed in historic elections in the democratic republic of congo but the vote has been marred by delays and technical glitches. the parents of a british man murdered by his chinese wife win

custody of their six—year—old granddaughter but are forced to leave their grandson behind. and we meet the thai man who uses his pets to help bereaved people through their grief.