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• Before 1857
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  Ecclesiastical (church) courts could grant an annulment, or a divorce a mensa et thoro (divorce from bed and board)

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• 1837

  Queen Victoria ascends to the throne

• 1838

  Publication of Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist

  Abolition of slavery in the British Empire

• 1839
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  The Custody of Infants Act 1839 reformed the law relating to the custody of minor children upon the breakdown of a marriage

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• 1854

  Britain enters the Crimean War

• 1856

  End of the Crimean War

• 1857
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  With the passing of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1857, the ability to dissolve marriages passed from the ecclesiastical courts to the newly-created Court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes

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• 1861

  Death of Queen Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert

• 1867

  The second Reform Act doubles the number of people (males only) eligible to vote

• 1870-1893
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  A series of Married Women’s Property Acts began to do away with the idea that a married woman was under the guardianship of her husband and had no separate legal identity

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• 1900

  Foundation of the Labour Party

• 1901

  Death of Queen Victoria and succession of Edward VII

• 1910

  Death of King Edward VII and succession of George V

• 1912

  Sinking of the Titanic

• 1914

  First World War begins

• 1918

  First World War ends

• 1918
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  Women over 30 who met specified property conditions and all men over 21 (prior to this certain conditions had applied to men as well) became eligible to vote

• 1919

  Lady Astor is the first female MP to take her seat in Parliament

• 1923
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  The requirement for women to prove an aggravating factor in addition to adultery in order to obtain a divorce was dropped

• 1927

  Creation of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

• 1928

  Discovery of penicillin

• 1928
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  Women over the age of 21 became eligible to vote

• 1929

  The Wall Street Crash sparks the Great Depression

• 1929

  First BBC transmission of experimental “television”

• 1936

  Death of George V and succession of Edward VIII

• 1936

  Abdication crisis leads to the succession to the throne of Edward’s brother, Albert, (George VI)

• 1937
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  The Matrimonial Causes Act 1937 allowed divorces to be granted on the basis of cruelty, “incurable insanity” or two years’ desertion as well as adultery

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• 1939

  Second World War begins

• 1940

  Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister

• 1945

  Second World War ends

• 1948

  Foundation of the NHS

• 1952

  Death of George VI and succession of Elizabeth II

• 1967

  Legalisation of homosexuality and introduction of legal abortion

• 1971
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  The coming into force of the Divorce Reform Act 1969 gave birth to divorce law as we know it today

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• 1973
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  The Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 is the backbone of the current divorce law and financial regime in place today

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• 1979

  Election of first female prime minister, Margaret Thatcher

• 1982

  Falklands War

• 1984
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  The Matrimonial Proceedings and Property Act 1984 placed a duty upon the courts to attempt to bring to an end the financial ties and obligations between a divorcing couple either at the point of divorce or at a later date

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• 1989

  Invention of the “World Wide Web”

• 1993
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  The Child Support Agency was launched, taking almost all child maintenance cases out of the jurisdiction of the courts

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• 1997

  Death of Diana, Princess of Wales

• 2000
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  The case of White v White was decided by the House of Lords, then the highest court in the land

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• 2001

  9/11 attacks on New York and the Pentagon

• 2001

  US-led invasion of Afghanistan

• 2003

  US-led invasion of Iraq

• 2005

  Terrorist attacks on London transport network

• 2005
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  The first civil partnership ceremonies took place in the UK

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• 2006
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  The cases of Miller v Miller andMcFarlane v McFarlane were decided by the House of Lords

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• 2007

  Run on the Northern Rock bank marks the first major UK episode in the sub-prime mortgage crisis

• 2008

  UK government bails out major banks as the world financial crisis hits Britain

• 2014
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  The first same sex marriages took place in the United Kingdom

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• 2015
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  Controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship becomes a criminal offence.

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• 2016

  The UK votes to leave the European Union

• 2017

  Allegations of sexual abuse against film producer Harvey Weinstein leads to the #MeToo movement

• 2018
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  Owens vs Owens is decided by the Supreme Court.

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• 2018

  The world marks the centenary of the ending of the First World War

• 2019
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  Opposite sex couples join their same-sex counterparts and can choose between marriage or civil partnership.

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• 2019

  Boris Johnson becomes UK Prime Minister and a few months later wins a parliamentary majority following the General Election

• 2020
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  Passing of the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 creates the legal framework for no-fault divorce and civil partnership dissolution, expected to come into force towards the end of 2021

• 2020

  The UK leaves the European Union on 31st January

• 2020

  Coronavirus pandemic