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| 1966 |
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| First knighthood granted to a professional footballer, a sign of the growing acceptance of popular culture. | 1 |
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| Feb. 22 |
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| The Labour government's decision to reduce defense expenditures resulted in the resignation of the secretary for the navy and the first sea lord in protest against the decision to abandon aircraft carriers as the main strike force and to put future emphasis on short-based F111A planes, to be purchased from the United States. | 2 |
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| March 23 |
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| Visit of the archbishop of Canterbury, Arthur M. Ramsey, to Pope Paul VI. They agreed on efforts to bring the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches together. | 3 |
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| March 31 |
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| Elections greatly strengthened the position of the Labour Party, which thenceforth had a majority of 97 in the house and was freer to embark on economic planning and the development of social services. | 4 |
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| May 16–July 1 |
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| Strike of the National Union of Seamen, the most serious labor dispute since 1926. The government declared a state of emergency (May 23), but finally agreed to a compromise settlement. | 5 |
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| July 1 |
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| Introduction of a freeze on wages, salaries, and prices for one year, in an effort to check inflation and improve the balance-of-payments situation. | 6 |
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| July 14 |
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| A Welsh nationalist for the first time defeated all other candidates in a by-election, reflecting the growing spirit of nationalism in both Wales and Scotland. | 7 |
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| July 31 |
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| Abolition of the Colonial Office, whose responsibilities for the remaining dependencies were to be taken over by the Commonwealth Office. | 8 |
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| Oct. 5 |
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| The Gibraltar issue became acute when the Spanish government closed the customs facilities at La Linea and rejected a British offer to submit the question of sovereignty to the International Court of Justice (Dec. 14) (See Dec. 14). | 9 |
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