There was grief, there was scandal, there was rain. But Katie Hodge says the best bits of an extraordinary 12 months makes it a year to remember
It was a year of momentous events and the running theme was celebration.
Britain gloried in a string of dramatic highs which began with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, continued through the Olympic Games and culminated with the news of a royal baby.
But 12 months of festivities were dotted with trials and tribulations: from Westminster's wrangling over the Leveson Inquiry, to the havoc wrought by the good old British weather.
Neither was it a year without its fair share of controversy which left a black cloud hanging over the entertainment industry as famous faces from bygone days found themselves mired in the fall-out from the Jimmy Savile scandal.
Yet 2012 is most likely to be remembered for its pomp and ceremony and a series of indisputable sporting triumphs.
The bar was set high with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, an occasion which captured the British spirit during a weekend of celebrations in towns and villages across the country to mark her 60 years on the throne.
In London, up to a million people flocked to the banks of the Thames to watch a majestic procession of 1,000 ships with the royal barge at its heart.
The historic milestone was met with an outpouring of support across the globe, setting the tone for the Games as swathes of the country became a sea of red, white and blue.
The Queen returned this enthusiasm by making her acting debut at London 2012 as the Olympics exploded in to life. On July 27 Danny Boyle's block-busting opening ceremony and its star-studded cast enchanted millions of viewers around the world.
Over the next two weeks and later, during the Paralympics, British athletes lined up to join the country's pantheon of sporting greats who brought one astonishing success after the next for Team GB.
Mo Farah's now famous "mobot" pose, borrowed by none other than sprint champion Usain Bolt, became one of the most enduring images of the Games alongside the picture of Bradley Wiggins who sat on a throne at Hampton Court Palace after his triumph in the men's individual time trial.
This came just days after the cyclist pulled off a veritable tour de force when he became the first Briton to win the Tour de France.
His achievement was further recognised when Wiggins was crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year, leaving gold medal winner Jessica Ennis in second place and Andy Murray, who made headlines when he clinched the US Open tennis and an Olympic gold, in third.
The hotly contested award was presented by the Duchess of Cambridge whose pregnancy became another cause for celebration when it was announced earlier this month.
But the news set in motion a chain of events which apparently led to the death of nurse Jacintha Saldanha, from Bristol, and drew immense public sadness.
The national reaction echoed that of the grief sparked by the disappearance of five-year-old April Jones from Machynlleth in west Wales, and the death of schoolgirl Tia Sharp, 12, whose remains were found at her grandmother's house in Croydon, south London, earlier in the year.
Similar scenes of emotion played out following the slaying of three members of the same British family who were found shot dead in the French Alps, and after the murders of Pcs Fiona Bone, 32, and Nicola Hughes, 23, as they investigated a hoax burglary in Greater Manchester.
Trouble also dogged entertainment and politics, while Lord Justice Leveson's inquiry into press standards rumbled on in the background for much of the year and ignited a furore in Westminster on publication last month.
It came at the end of a dramatic 12 months for the political elites which saw the Queen shake hands with Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness in Belfast; the exposure of close links between ministers and the Murdoch clan; and the resignations of Energy Secretary Chris Huhne after he was charged with perverting the course of justice, and Chief Whip Andrew Mitchell following his "plebgate" confrontation with Downing Street police officers.
Scandal also rocked the BBC as Savile was exposed as a serial child sex abuser, while bankers came in for another hefty dose of public ire.
In January, Fred Goodwin's knighthood was annulled by the Queen when a committee found that the former Royal Bank of Scotland boss had brought the honours system in to disrepute.
Six months later Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond resigned as the bank was fined a record amount for its part in the Libor rate-rigging scandal.
The spotlight was also turned on the Royal Family, which became the focus of sensational headlines when photographs of Prince Harry frolicking naked in a Las Vegas hotel room came to public attention.
Meanwhile, his sister-in-law, the Duchess of Cambridge, found herself at the centre of unwanted attention when French magazine Closer
published shots of her sunbathing topless on the terrace of a French chateau.
But both royals appeared to put the embarrassing episodes behind them. Harry left for a tour of duty as a co-pilot gunner in Afghanistan while Kate put on a brave face as she continued her trip to south-east Asia and the south Pacific with Prince William.
The year came to a close following a bout of bad weather in which four people died and heavy rain flooded more than 1,000 homes.
But it failed to dampen the spirit of celebration.
In a fitting end to the year, Olympics supremo Lord Coe was recognised with a lifetime achievement award at the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year awards as Britain looked back on a golden year.
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