Queen Elizabeth might be 95 years old, but that doesn’t mean she has any intention of slowing down soon. The queen herself has even admitted that it would take a medical emergency for her to give up the throne.
Town & Country recently published an excerpt from Matthew Dennison’s new book, The Queen, which delves into the monarch’s history-making reign and which was officially released today, September 1.
Per the passage, the royal has revealed on a handful of occasions that although she is getting older, she has no plans to abdicate the throne. In fact, the book says she told her cousin, Margaret Rhodes, that she would not leave her position “unless I get Alzheimer’s or have a stroke.” In addition, on his retirement as Archbishop of Canterbury in 2003, the queen told George Carey: “That’s something I can’t do. I’m going to carry on to the end.”
If you didn’t know, Her Majesty is the fourth longest-reigning monarch in history. And as of next year, Elizabeth will have served as the British monarch for a total of 70 years which makes her the longest-reigning monarch in the history of the U.K., a feat which she achieved in 2015 when she surpassed a record previously held by her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria, who ruled for 63 years from 1837 to 1901.