The same can be said for the aristocratic class across the globe.
With 26 countries still maintaining constitutional monarchies, extreme old age is a phenomenon mirrored to varying degrees.
These royals are proof that 90 is the new 80.
In 1980, she ascended the throne following the abdication of her own mother, Queen Juliana.
During her lengthy reign, she suffered a number of tragic losses.
She had reportedly visited her ailing son every weekend in the hospital before he succumbed to his injuries.
“They’re united by being quite lonely at the top,” said journalist Tina Adebayo.
In 2020, he faced allegations of historic misuse of public money.
Subsequently, he went into exile in Abu Dhabi.
Two years later, he re-emerged in Spain, albeit fleetingly, to a frosty reception.
Despite his advanced age, Juan has apparently enjoyed an active love life.
But the couple has enjoyed a happy marriage for over 50 years, proudly defying convention.
But in addition to serving her country, she has always made time for her own hobbies and interests.
An avowed lover of the arts, she founded an art scholarship in 2011.
“Americans have no idea what a kingdom is.
“Americans don’t understand the bearing of this here.
He thought he could do whatever he wanted without compromising us at all.”
She shared a close bond with Elizabeth, who gifted her clothing during WWII.
At 11, she was a bridesmaid at Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s 1947 wedding.
Poignantly, he died the day after his wife’s 68th birthday.
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent (age 87)
Prince Edward has enjoyed considerable longevity.
As with Alexandra, Edward was tirelessly loyal to his cousin, Queen Elizabeth II.
On numerous occasions throughout the queen’s reign, he supported her with the utmost devotion.
He paid homage at her 1953 coronation, a role that the then-teenager found daunting.
Edward has proven himself a highly resilient royal.
In 2013, the then 77-year-old suffered a stroke.
However, a spokesperson revealed that the elderly duke was already on the road to recovery.
To this day, he continues his princely duties.
There were even death threats made against her family at the time.
In 2009, Japan celebrated Michiko and Akihito’s 50th wedding anniversary.
Though she suffered some setbacks during her reign namely a number of stress-related ailments Michiko is still going strong.
During his 30-year reign, he was a progressive figure.
“That time produced in him strong feelings against war and its chaos.
You could call it a hatred of war,” his childhood friend, Mototsugu Akashi, toldNPR.
Though born into privilege, he didn’t have the easiest start in life.
She was just 29.
His reign was blighted by scandal.
When she attempted to track her father down, Boel claimed that the king rebuked her.
“You must never call me again,” he allegedly said, perThe Independent.
“I want to hear nothing of this whole thing any more.
Besides, you are not my daughter.”
In 2020, a DNA test confirmed that Albert is indeed Boel’s father.
Due to health problems (she has chronic fatigue syndrome), Katharine left royal duties behind in 1996.
In 1996, the then 63-year-old did just that when she became a music teacher at a state-funded school.
Rather, Katharine explained, she simply wanted a more normal existence away from the spotlight.
“There was nothing that I felt I wanted to hide away from …
I was supported through it as well,” she said.
“The Queen said: ‘Yes, go and do it,’ so I did.”
Since 2012, Sirikit has mostly shied away from public life due to a series of health problems.
She was hospitalized with flu-like symptoms in 2019, though she was discharged after making a marked improvement.
It was there she caught the gaze of Prince Sigvard Bernadotte of Sweden.
The couple was married for over 40 years until Sigvard died in 2002, aged 94.
Born in 1924, Marianne became a popular royal after tying the knot with the prince.
In 2017 there was even an exhibition at Millesgarden Museum in Lidingo, dedicated to her iconic outfits.
All the while, she has remained down to earth.
“I never call myself princess,” she toldThe New York Timesin 2010.
“But the people who know the circumstances call me that.”
Approaching her 100th birthday, Marianne opened up about her longevity in an interview withNewsBeezerin 2019.
“I do not do anything special,” she explained.
After 75 years of marriage, she was at her husband’s side when he died.
Her old age has come at a price, though.
She has outlived all three of her sons, and has just two surviving children, both daughters.
Suffering from heart failure and pneumonia, she was hospitalized in 2020 but made a swift recovery.
In 2022, she contracted and survived COVID-19.
It was reported that, despite her advanced age, she was only experiencing mild symptoms.
In June 2023, she celebrated her 100th birthday.
“I would like to continue spending my days while praying for people’s happiness.”
Born in 1919, the Austrian noblewoman is the daughter of Baron and Baroness Mayr-Melnhof.
She became a princess in 1942 when she wed Prince Ludwig zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn.
