How Queen Elizabeth stays sharp at 95

As the Queen prepares to enter her 70th year on the throne, a royal insider has shared how the Queen, 95, keeps her mind nimble and active – and it seems like she’s just like the rest of us.

The Queen has a close bubble of trusted friends in her life, although admittedly it’s smaller since the passing of Prince Philip in April, and they are her biggest asset in keeping her mind sharp. According to People magazine, the Queen has also gotten into the endearing habit of having her close friends over to Windsor Castle to watch television together and have a laugh.

Speaking to People, a royal insider shared that “the Queen can go from being magisterial to chatty with those she trusts. She has good judgment once she trusts people – and once she does it is very easy”.

According to People, the Queen started having friends to Windsor Castle, where she has been staying for the majority of the Covid-19 pandemic, to watch television, and enjoy lunches together. Some of the Queen’s closest crew include Lady Susan Hussey, with whom she’s been friends for 60 years, Lady Annabel Whitehead, Lady Elizabeth Leeming, Mabel Anderson Prince Charles’s nanny, and Susan Rhodes.

The Queen also enjoys the company of her dresser and close aide Angela Kelly, and her footman Paul Whybrew.

“Those who are in it [the Queen’s circle] cherish their place. They are a support for the Queen and someone that they can have a laugh with and she can talk about the issues of the day,” reports People. 

Meanwhile, The Mirror reports that the biographer of the Queen, Ingrid Seward, credits Queen Elizabeth’s “ability to compartmentalise” as one of the reasons she has been such a successful, long reigning monarch.

Seward shared: “Fundamentally she puts things in a box and says ‘that can be dealt with on Thursday,’ for example. She won’t let things crowd in on her. She is mentally disciplined and that has helped her through these 70 years.”