Queen Elizabeth, UK’s Longest-Serving Monarch, Dies at 96

Sept. 8, 2022 -– Great Britain’s oldest and longest-reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth the II, has died.

The precise reason behind dying has not been launched however Buckingham Palace on Thursday introduced she had been positioned below medical supervision at residence and medical doctors have been “concerned” about her well being. Members of the royal household have been mentioned to be assembling at her residence, Balmoral, in Scotland.

In a press release later Thursday, the Royal Family mentioned, “The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and The Queen Consort will stay at Balmoral this night and can return to London tomorrow.”

Elizabeth was born April 21, 1926, and ascended the throne at age 25 after the dying of her father, King George VI, in 1952.

Recent Health Problems

Despite having fun with good well being into her 90s, the queen had been experiencing well being woes as of late.

She contracted COVID-19 in late February, which she mentioned left “one very tired and exhausted,” in a video name with well being employees.

Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, paid the queen a go to in mid-April – the pair’s first go to to Windsor Castle since their controversial exit — which had many questioning if the late monarch’s well being was failing.

She additionally missed a number of annual royal occasions this yr, together with Easter Sunday service at St George’s Chapel, citing issue transferring and touring. 

Elizabeth, did, nevertheless, greet newly elected Prime Minister Liz Truss on Tuesday at Balmoral.

The queen had been in good well being for a few years, with solely three temporary hospital visits within the final twenty years. That started to alter after the dying of her husband of 73 years, Prince Philip, on April 9, 2021, lower than 2 weeks earlier than her ninety fifth birthday.

Six months later, in October 2021, the queen abruptly canceled a visit to Northern Ireland as a result of fatigue, in keeping with palace aides, and was hospitalized the subsequent day. After an in a single day keep she was launched. In an unprecedented transfer, her participation in all public occasions and ceremonies was canceled for the next 2 weeks. No rationalization or prognosis was offered.

The Keys to Her Longevity

Although she was among the many world’s wealthiest girls, Queen Elizabeth led a comparatively low-key life — and her famously modest way of life could have contributed to her longevity. While she by no means commented publicly on her weight loss program, train, sleep habits, or different elements of her day-to-day life, it seems she maintained a naturally health-boosting routine.

The queen’s weight loss program was notably unfussy. According to stories, she began her mornings with Earl Grey tea, after which breakfast would possibly embrace a bowl of cereal or yogurt, and infrequently toast with marmalade. Unless she was consuming at a proper perform, lunch and dinner each featured merely cooked protein — grilled rooster or fish with salad for lunch, and recreation (like venison or pheasant) or extra fish for dinner, with none starch. “That’s it. That’s all she has,” former royal chef Darren McGrady instructed CNN in 2017. “She’s very disciplined like that. She could have anything she wanted, but it is that discipline that keeps her so well and so healthy.”

But the queen did admire common, small indulgences: Between lunch and dinner, she would get pleasure from afternoon tea with finger sandwiches and cake, and she or he was identified to drink alcohol often, too.

Elizabeth didn’t comply with a particular train routine. Instead, she included bodily exercise in her on a regular basis life, largely strolling together with her beloved corgis or using horses on royal lands. Routinely getting sufficient sleep contributed to her good well being, too. She tried to be in mattress by 11 p.m. and woke at 7:30 a.m.

“Mental habits and distinctive methods of considering — about meals or train or work or relaxation — make her the down-to-earth lady she is right this moment,” Bryan Kozlowski, writer of Long Live the Queen! 23 Rules for Living From Britain’s Longest-Reigning Monarch, instructed Good Housekeeping in 2020. “Which, in turn, makes her lifestyle ‘secrets’ a surprisingly easy (and free!) joy to follow in everyday life.”

Kozlowski named a number of different elements that helped her keep bodily and mentally wholesome effectively into her nineties:
 

• Staying engaged. The queen made dozens of public appearances annually, and each day she spent hours studying by means of a big purple field of paperwork associated to political beliefs.
• Giving again. From the time she ascended the throne, Elizabeth was well-known for her sense of objective. She supported quite a few charities and sought to reside by instance.
• Making time to recharge. As the pinnacle of the British monarchy, Elizabeth typically had lots on her shoulders, however she prioritized spending time in nature, with common visits to her nation estates. Even her afternoon tea offered a each day respite from stress.

One different potential issue: Having misplaced her father, uncle, grandfather, great-grandfather, and finally her sister to smoking-related diseases, Elizabeth reportedly by no means smoked a cigarette in her life.

Elizabeth is survived by her son, Charles; her different youngsters, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, and Prince Edward, and plenty of grandchildren and great-grandchildren.