Another claim to fame has been made for The Queen as she approaches a milestone in her already historic reign. Research has determined how many of her subjects have lived longer than she has. Do you know how many British people were actually older than the late Queen Elizabeth?
Only about 100,000 British citizens are older than Queen Elizabeth. She is the only monarch who has ever reigned over 85% of her subjects.
Long Live the Queen
Her Majesty was born in April 1926 and was 96 years old upon her passing. Professor Les Mayhew of the International Longevity Center and the Bayes Business School estimates that only 100,000 people in the UK are older than the monarch. Over 85% of the UK’s 66 million people can only recall The Queen as their Head of State.
Professor Mayhew was researching life expectancy for royals and the general public. He discovered that members of the House of Windsor live 26 percent longer than the rest of the population.
He began his investigation with King George V, who changed the name of the royal dynasty to Windsor in 1917. George was born in 1865 and lived to be 70 years old. By the age of 60, roughly half of those born in 1880 had died.
According to Professor Mayhew, general life expectancy has since increased. Still, several members of the House of Windsor had lived to be very old, including Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, who was 101 when she died, and Prince Philip, who was 99 when he died in 2021. According to his findings, for every royal who lives to be 100, the average person could live to be 74.
What has happened is that they have continued to live a little bit longer, but the general population has been catching up. There is still a gulf, which partly speaks to wider inequalities in wider society.
Professor Les Mayhew, International Longevity Centre and the Bayes Business School
In reference to the late Queen’s reign, he stated that the length of her reign provided stability and continuity.
The longer you are there – as long as you behave yourself – the more respect you get. She has deserved that respect.
Professor Les Mayhew
(Source: Parade)
Facts About Queen Elizabeth: No Driver’s License Required, Her Love for Corgis and the Thousands of Wedding Gifts
The queen is the only person in the United Kingdom who does not need a driver’s license or a license plate on her vehicle. She also does not require a passport because all British passports are issued in her name.
The queen is well-known for her love of corgis, she has owned over 30 of the breed throughout her life, but did you know she bred the first dorgi? Princess Margaret’s pet dog, a dachshund named Pippin, spent some time alone with one of the queen’s corgis, and history was made.
When the Queen and Prince Philip married in 1947, they received over 2,500 wedding gifts. Because nylon stockings were in short supply due to clothing rationing, women from all over the country sent 131 pairs to Elizabeth. A box of apples, 500 tins of pineapple, and an $83 million necklace were also presented to the couple. (Source: Parade)
Image from Business Insider