On 11 December 1936 King Edward VIII explained his decision to abdicate in a radio broadcast in order to marry his mistress, Mrs Wallis Simpson, a twice-divorced American socialite, the marriage was opposed by the government on religious, legal, political, and moral grounds.
On 11 December 1987 Charlie Chaplin’s cane and bowler hat, used in his iconic films, were sold at Christie’s for £82,500
The 17th century Seven Dials monument was removed as the thieves and prostitutes used to hang around it. The current replica dates to 1989
There were eight deep-level shelters built under the London Underground in the Second World War. One of them in Stockwell is decorated as a war memorial
Livingstone’s heart was buried under a tree where he died, now the site of the Livingstone Memorial, his remains buried at Westminster Abbey
Only two MPs have run the London Marathon under 3 hours, best Matthew Parris at 2:32.57 in 1985 and Doug Henderson achieved 2:52.24 in 1989
Author A. A. Milne found the original Winnie-the-Pooh for his son Christopher Robin in the Toy Department of Harrod’s on Christmas Eve
Harrod’s opened in 1849 as a single room grocery shop, a fire gutted the building in 1883 and in 1898 installed the world’s first escalator
London has 108 golf courses, to play every hole would require walking just over 300 miles (assuming you kept out of the rough) and crossing a covered reservoir in Honor Oak
During the Second World War, part of the Piccadilly line (Holborn – Aldwych branch), was closed and British Museum treasures were stored in the empty spaces
Billingsgate Market (old) was originally opened in 1016 selling food and wine, with fish becoming the sole trade later
The dog listening to the gramophone in the HMV logo has a road named after him, near his burial site in Kingston on Thames: Nipper Alley
Trivial Matter: London in 140 characters is taken from the daily Twitter feed @cabbieblog.
A guide to the symbols used here and source material can be found on the Trivial Matter page.
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