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Alexander Windsor, Earl of Ulster

b. 1974

Born
24 Oct 1974, St Mary's Hospital
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
5
sources
1
images and files
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Facts and their sources

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A life in time

  1. Born · St Mary's Hospital

    Birth, St Mary's Hospital

What was it like?

The world around St Mary's Hospital, 1974: 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.

In the mid-1970s, football fans were known for wearing exceptionally wide trousers and carrying two scarves, one on each wrist, to display their team colours.

Fashion
Around 1975–1979

Wide trousers and scarves for football fans

In the mid-1970s, football fans were known for wearing exceptionally wide trousers and carrying two scarves, one on each wrist, to display their team colours.

Everyday wear and voluminous party skirts

Women wore floral pinafores as everyday house wear and favoured full-skirted dresses with stiffened petticoats for special occasions. These skirts were sometimes so voluminous that they made it difficult for women to pass through doorways.

Music

Concertina revival among young people

In the late 1960s and 1970s, young people began reclaiming concertinas from junk shops and attics, making them a key instrument for accompanying traditional song in the folk revival.

Rise of English country dance music

During the 1970s, a revival of English country music led to the popularity of ceilidhs or barn dances, where people danced to music played by melodeon-led bands.

Getting around

Walking remained common for everyday travel

Walking remained a primary mode of transport throughout this period, serving as the main way to commute for one-third to one-fifth of people in smaller towns and cities as late as the 1970s.

Around 1975–1999

Increasing distance of everyday trips

The average distance per trip increased from 4.7 miles in the early 1970s to 6.9 miles by 2006, as personal mobility grew through expanded road networks.

Daily life

Blackouts forced living by candlelight

During the 1970s energy crisis, planned blackouts were a regular feature, forcing people to use candles and limit heating to just one room.

Daily showering became more common

Between 1970 and 1980, many households shifted from a daily campers wash to a daily shower as instant hot water became widely available.

Food
Around 1976–1976

1976 potato shortage and high prices

Due to a severe potato shortage in 1976, prices for old potatoes reached 13.2p per lb during the spring, leading families to shift toward frozen potato products and pasta.

Widespread adoption of home freezers

Freezer ownership in British households jumped from 15 percent in 1974 to 94 percent by 2000, transforming diets with frozen convenience meals.

Prices and wages
Around 1975–1975

Average Weekly Wages in 1975

In 1975, a full-time male manual worker aged 21 and over earned an average wage of £60.00 per week.

Around 1975–1975

Everyday Prices in 1975

In 1975, a large loaf of bread cost 15p, a pint of milk was 7p, and a pint of beer was 28p.

Work
Around 1975–1999

Common factory and manual labor jobs

Factory work was common, with many laborers performing monotonous, repetitive tasks such as capping bottles or inspecting thousands of cuffs weekly. Others worked in skilled crafts or manual roles in industries like coal, metal, and construction.

Around 1975–1999

Longer working hours for British employees

The standard working week lengthened from 40 hours in the 1970s to 44 hours by 1999, with many employees frequently working 50-hour weeks or more. This culture of long hours often involved exhausting shift work, including night shifts that disrupted body clocks.

News and letters

Rising cost of first-class postage

In 1977, a first-class letter cost 12p, which was nearly six times the 1970 price of 2.08p.

During their lifetime

  1. 1994

    Channel Tunnel opens in 1994

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

Family

Parents

Spouses

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.