The chilling (and hilarious) predictions made by Brits in 1999 about way forward for the UK – (together with a royal forecast a number of received proper!)

A list of predictions Brits made in 1999 about the future is being shared online – with some being spot on, and others hilariously wrong. 

On December 31, 1999, The Daily Telegraph quizzed a group of Brits on what they thought would happen in the next 100 years.

While some of their answers were outlandish, others are eerily accurate to what life is like today, including predicting Elon Musk‘s Space X and even a nod to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Optimistically, most Brits hoped for a cure for cancer by 2,100 while others thought most people will be richer than their parents and England will win the Ashes.

However, only eight per cent correctly predicted  Camilla Parker-Bowles would become Queen.

The story was shared on Reddit this weekend, with hundreds of Brits sharing their thoughts.

Brits were also wrong about Scotland becoming independent and cloning becoming commonplace. 

However, Brits in 1999 were clued in about climate change, with 81 per cent predicting that global warming will lead to massive climate change by 2100. 

Indeed, over the past few days, the UK has been battered by stormy weather and heavy rain, with flights cancelled and hundreds of homes evacuated. 

A few days ago, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) announced that 2024 is set to be the warmest year on record, capping a decade of unprecedented heat fueled by human activities. 

A strong majority of respondents from 1999 also believed that Scotland would be independent by 2100.

Although this is not the case, there was a referendum in 2014 which was narrowly won by the ‘no’ vote – with 55 per cent of Scots wishing to remain a part of the UK, and 45 per cent voting to leave.

With the loss of Alex Salmond – a passionate supporter of the referendum – and the Scottish National Party rocked by an embezzlement scandal resulting in the haemorrhaging of seats at the last General Election, we will have to wait to see what is next for the nation’s bid for independence.

Continuing with the theme of politics, 72 per cent of respondents in 1999 thought that Britain would become part of a federal Europe. 

However, the British public chose to distance themselves from the European Union after the hotly contested Brexit vote of 2016.

Just over 52 per cent of Brits voted to leave the EU, while 48 per cent voted to remain.

Back in 1999, nearly two-thirds of the British people polled by the newspaper believed that nuclear war would break out ‘somewhere in the world’.

While this has not yet happened, talk of nuclear war recently ramped up after outgoing US president Joe Biden approved Ukraine to fire American-made missiles deep into Russia.

When he takes office in January, President-elect Donald Trump will inherit a raft of national security challenges, including major wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

And by his side will be Elon Musk as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The Tesla CEO also founded SpaceX – a rocket company based in America who sent four private astronauts into space last year and has plans to colonise Mars.

So when Brits in 1999 predicted that people would be taking holidays in space, they weren’t far off.

Speaking of his vision to build a self-sustaining city on the red planet in the next 20 years, the SpaceX boss said: ‘We are going to Mars. You might as well be on the fun trip.’ 

When Musk is there, perhaps he will check off a further prediction on the list from 1999 – ‘we will make contact with life on other planets’.

Another theory from 1999 stated that we would see more female leaders than male leaders across the world.

While Kamala Harris winning the recent Presidential Election would have certainly improved the ratio, this has not yet come true.

Recently, however, we have seen more women come into power, includuing Claudia Sheinbaum became Mexico’s first female president in October 2024.

The likes of Angela Merkel who was made Germany’s first female chancellor in 2005 and held the position until 2021.

Around 44 per cent of Brits polled in 1999 were hopeful that England would win the Ashes.

At the time, Australia had held the Ashes consecutively since 1989 – and they would go on to win two further tests in 2001 and 2002.

But the respondents’ dream was finally realised in 2005 with a 2-1 series win for England who finally succeeded in their biennial attempt to lift the urn.

Eerily, another prediction from 1999 came close to coming true in 2020.

Around 35 per cent of respondents theorised that there would be a ‘great plague’ in the next 100 years that would claim the lives of billions worldwide.

While the death toll is not quite this high, Covid-19 is thought to have killed at least 235,000 Brits since the pandemic began, with further fatalities caused by the disruption to the NHS and regular screening for health issues like cancer.

But there is one forecast on the list that has categorically come true.

Eight per cent of Brits in 1999 thought that Camilla Parker Bowles would become Queen – and she did in May 2023, alongside her husband King Charles.

Although Charles and Camilla were romantically involved well before the turn of the millennium, they were still working hard to introduce their relationship to the public.

Before Diana tragically died in 1997, the ‘people’s princess’ declared in a now-famous  interview with Martin Bashir: ‘Well, there were three of us in this marriage, so it was a bit crowded.’

Much like the public, Queen Elizabeth did not approve of the previously-adulterous relationship, declining her invitation to a private 50th birthday party for Charles in 1998 because Camilla would be there, according to Town and Country.

In an effort to move on from being vilified by the public, Charles started making appearances with Camilla and even invited her on family holidays with Prince William and Harry.

Eventually, she moved into Clarence House with the future king and the pair announced their engagement in February 2005.

They were married at Windsor Guildhall two months later in April 2005.

When Queen Elizabeth passed away at her beloved Balmoral Castle in September 2022, Charles immediately succeeded her.

He was crowned King Charles III in May 2023 with Camilla as queen consort.