Skip to content
VitrineRoyal Houses of Europe
Sign in

Lady Paola Windsor

b. 1969

Born
7 Aug 1969, London
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
0

Facts and their sources

Tap a fact to see where it comes from.

A life in time

  1. Born · London

    Birth, London

What was it like?

The world around London, 1969: 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.

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.

Fashion

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.

Sparking boots and mandatory school wear

Children's footwear included hobnail boots with metal studs that created sparks on pavements, later replaced by rubber-soled Tuf or Commando boots. For school, boys were required to wear short trousers with knee-length socks held up by elastic garters.

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.

Around 1970–1979

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.

Work commute times remained stable

The average time for a work commute in Britain remained remarkably stable, averaging roughly 33 to 34 minutes during the 1950s and 1960s.

Daily life
Around 1970–1979

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.

Around 1970–1980

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.

Around 1950–1962

Limited crisp flavors for many years

Until 1962, potato crisps were available in only three flavors: potato, plain, or salted, before cheese and onion was introduced.

Prices and wages
Around 1970–1970

1970 earnings and car prices

By 1970, the average weekly wage had risen to approximately £28 to £32, and a new Mini car cost around £600.

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.

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
Around 1970–1977

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. 1971

    1971 Immigration Act passed

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

  2. 1971

    Decimal currency introduced in 1971

    The UK switched to a decimal currency system in 1971.

  3. 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.