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Princess Alexandra, Lady Ogilvy

b. 1936

Born
25 Dec 1936, Belgrave Square
Country of birth
United Kingdom

Living person. The family sees only the name, dates and photo; everything else stays private unless they choose to share it.

facts
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sources
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images and files
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Facts and their sources

Tap a fact to see where it comes from.

A life in time

  1. Born · Belgrave Square

    Birth, Belgrave Square

  2. Child born: James Ogilvy

    Birth, Thatched House Lodge

  3. Child born: Marina Ogilvy

    Birth, Thatched House Lodge

What was it like?

The world around Belgrave Square, 1936: who ruled, who else was alive, how people lived. This is general history, not a record about the family, and every item shows where it comes from.

Princess was born around the same time as Jane Goodall, Michael Caine, and Elvis Presley.

Born around the same time

  • Jane Goodall

    1934 · English primatologist and anthropologist (1934–2025)

  • Michael Caine

    1933 · English actor (born 1933)

  • Elvis Presley

    1935 · American singer and actor (1935–1977)

  • Woody Allen

    1935 · American filmmaker, actor and comedian (born 1935)

  • Carl Sagan

    1934 · American astrophysicist, cosmologist and author (1934–1996)

  • Garrincha

    1933 · Brazilian association football player (1933–1983)

Fashion
Around 1939–1945

Turbans served as safety and style

The turban, initially a safety device to protect hair from factory machinery, became popular everyday wear that also disguised unkempt hair during the war.

Around 1939–1945

Wartime siren suits for air raids

The siren suit was an all-enveloping, zip-up boiler suit that people wore over pajamas for quick dashes to air raid shelters during the war.

Music

Civic celebrations and improvised instruments

To celebrate victories, civic bands often led parades through city centers, although this tradition was more common in northern industrial regions than in others. Fans traveling to major events also used improvised instruments like mouth organs, tin whistles, and rattles to provide music.

Community singing at FA Cup matches

At FA Cup football matches, thousands of fans participated in formal community singing of popular songs and the hymn Abide with me, beginning in 1927. The stadium atmosphere during the hymn was described as having a moving intensity comparable to the silence at the Cenotaph on Armistice Day.

Getting around

Short branch line train travel times

A local branch line train between Oxenholme and Windermere stopped at three intermediate stations over a 10-mile distance, with the journey taking 25 to 30 minutes.

Walking was the primary mode of commuting

In the 1930s, walking was the most common way for people to commute to work, remaining the primary method for one-third of the population.

Daily life

Limited Home Amenities and Rationing

Many homes lacked bathrooms and indoor toilets; families often used a portable tin bath in the kitchen and an outside toilet. To save fuel, authorities advised limiting bath water to a depth of five inches, a rule famously adopted even at Buckingham Palace.

Schooling and Classroom Life

Schools often lacked lunches, so children in winter brought a potato marked with their initials to be baked in the school coal-oven. Pupils were taught using rote learning, and in smaller schools, might start by writing in trays of sand before using chalkboards or expensive pencils.

Food
Around 1940–1949

Strict Wartime Food Rationing Limits

During wartime rationing, each person was typically limited to one fresh egg per week, 2oz of butter, 4oz of margarine, and 8oz of sugar. Many families supplemented their meals by growing their own vegetables in gardens or allotments through the Dig for Victory campaign.

Around 1942–1953

Scarcity of Sweets and Exotic Fruits

Exotic fruits like bananas were unavailable during the war, leading mothers to create mock versions using parsnips. Sweets and chocolates were also heavily rationed, and their scarcity led to a failed attempt to de-ration them in 1949.

Prices and wages

Starting wage for a fourteen-year-old worker

A common starting wage for a fourteen-year-old starting work was 10 shillings a week for a 45-hour work week.

Around 1938–1938

Cost of bread and bacon in 1938

In 1938, bread typically cost about 8.5 pence for a 4-pound loaf, while bacon cost roughly 1 shilling 3.5 pence per pound.

Work
Around 1939–1945

Wartime Work Roles and Random Selection

During World War II, young men were randomly selected by ballot to become miners, known as Bevin Boys, if their National Service numbers matched the drawn digits. Additionally, about 6,000 women joined the Women's Timber Corps to work in sawmills and chop timber, earning the nickname lumberjills.

Common Jobs and Wages for Young Workers

In the 1920s, coal mining was a major industry for men, while over 1.5 million women worked in personal service as domestic servants, housekeepers, or charwomen. Many children began full-time work at 14, often earning about 10 shillings a week for a 45-hour work week.

News and letters

Underground mail transport in London

For over 75 years, the underground Mail Rail system in London operated 22 hours a day, using automated trains to transport four million letters daily between sorting offices and rail stations.

Around 1939–1946

Telegram delivery times increased after 1939

Before the Second World War, an inland telegram typically took just over 30 minutes to reach its recipient, but by 1946, this had increased to approximately 70 minutes.

During their lifetime

  1. 1948

    Creation of the NHS in 1948

    In 1948, the National Health Service (NHS) was created to provide healthcare, following the 1942 Beveridge Report.

  2. 1954

    Food rationing ends in 1954

    Food rationing, which began during World War II, finally ended in 1954.

  3. 1958

    First motorway opens in 1958

    Britain opened its first motorway, the Preston bypass, in 1958.

  4. 1971

    1971 Immigration Act passed

    The 1971 Immigration Act restricted rights for Commonwealth migrants, effectively ending the Windrush era.

  5. 1971

    Decimal currency introduced in 1971

    The UK switched to a decimal currency system in 1971.

  6. 1994

    Channel Tunnel opens in 1994

    The Channel Tunnel, linking Britain and France, officially opened on 6 May 1994.

Family

Parents

Spouses

Children

Ancestors and children

Open the full tree

Four generations back to the right, the children to the left. The number beside a child counts the generations of descendants known after them.