The new millennium opened with the Millennium Dome on the Greenwich peninsula in London and a Labour government under Tony Blair. The decade that followed saw the September 11 attacks in the United States in 2001, British military involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq, and a global financial crisis in 2008.
Further reading: an editorial guide on this topic opens in a new window for additional context.
In 2012 London hosted the Summer Olympics. In 2014 Scotland voted in a referendum to remain part of the United Kingdom; in 2016 the UK voted to leave the European Union. The Covid-19 pandemic from 2020 saw the largest peacetime restrictions on British public life since the Second World War. Queen Elizabeth II died in September 2022 after a 70-year reign and was succeeded by her son King Charles III.
You may be asked which year London hosted the Olympics (2012), or who succeeded Elizabeth II (Charles III).
Test yourself on this topic
These questions from the official-format question bank cover the same material. Tap any question to see the correct answer and a short explanation.
Keep going
- Read the full study notes for British History.
- Try a practice test on this chapter.
- Sit a full 24-question timed mock.
- Browse the complete library of topic explainers.
Related topic explainers
The Second World War (1939–1945)
Britain stands alone in 1940, the Battle of Britain, D-Day and victory in Europe.
Stone Age and Iron Age Britain
From the first hunter-gatherers and Stonehenge to the Celtic tribes the Romans encountered.
The Industrial Revolution
Steam, iron, railways and factories — the transformation that began in Britain in the 1760s.
Post-War Immigration to Britain
The Empire Windrush, South Asian migration and the rebuilding of Britain after 1945.