10 Health Tips to Live Past 90 from the Queen

1. Genes

Queen Elizabeth's mother lived to 101 and her grandmother and great-grandmother lived to 85 and 89 respectively.

Geneticist Sarah Harper of the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing believes that the probability of a person living to a ripe old age increases dramatically if their parents lived past 70 and their grandparents lived to at least 80. Queen Elizabeth II passed away at age 96 in 2022.

2. No Smoking

Not picking up smoking was no easy task for the late Queen: both her father and sister smoked and in general, when she was young, smoking was not just generally accepted but even considered fashionable and progressive, especially for women. Elizabeth, however, was always against nicotine and even insisted that Prince Philip quit smoking if she was to marry him. Prince Philip accepted Elizabeth’s terms and never smoked a single cigarette after hooking up with Elizabeth. He eventually lived to a ripe old age of 99.

3. Good Wine

The only alcoholic beverage Elizabeth II ever drank was wine. She would have 1 - 2 glasses a day. She had a preference for dry whites, which had the most beneficial effect on her cardiovascular health and complexion!

4. Diet

Darren McGrady, the Queen's former personal chef, says the Queen was very ascetic in her eating habits. Her favourite dish was grilled chicken with a vegetable salad siding and she didn’t touch starches with a ten-foot pole. She also steered clear of flour and only had the occasional dessert every now and then.

5. A Happy Marriage

The Queen stayed married to Prince Philip for 73 years until his death. She always said in interviews that her husband supported her in all her endeavours, taking an active part in the education of their 4 children. The spouses never had serious falling-outs during their marriage. There is a thing or two we can learn from the late queen when it comes to married life.

6. Physical Activity

Until her dying day, the Queen would go on a two-hour walk in the park every day, she would also go horseback riding twice a week and would spend some of her working day standing up to keep her leg muscles toned up.

7. Good Sleep

Elizabeth II slept seven hours every night and always got up at the same time: her staff were instructed to wake her up at 7:30 if she wasn’t up by then on her own. She considered a strict daily routine as essential to her health.

8. Mindfulness

Elizabeth II made time for reading every day, keeping abreast of world events and responding to government enquiries and letters from ordinary people. She kept up with the latest book publications and came up with plans for official receptions and theme parties.

9. Philanthropy

Studies show that people who help others tend to live longer as they feel more useful and generally better about themselves, which reduces their stress level and has an overall positive impact on their health. The Queen donated money to over 600 charities around the world and closely followed their activities.

10. Optimism

Everyone who has ever met the Queen says she was almost always in a good mood. Even when she lost her temper about something, she would quickly calm down and never succumb to melancholy. And it’s a fact universally acknowledged that there is a positive correlation between a positive outlook on life and longevity.