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Queen Elizabeth II has been the Crowned Queen since 1952. Though she just turned 94-years-old, the queen has not slowed down at all. The sovereign monarch has passed down more responsibilities to the younger royals, including Prince Charles, Prince William, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. However, her daily schedule is just as robust as it has ever been.

Though her husband, Prince Philip retired from public royal life in 2017, Queen Elizabeth has continued to carry out her duties, hosting public engagements and adhering to her strict daily schedule that includes an 8:30 a.m. wakeup call, church on Sundays, walkabouts, and everything in between. She has even continued to run after her beloved corgis and go horseback rides

Many royal experts assumed that the queen would slowly begin phasing herself out in order for Prince Charles to step up, but that hasn’t happened. In fact, one royal expert has revealed that Queen Elizabeth is obsessed with being busy.

Queen Elizabeth is still working amid the coronavirus pandemic

When the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis first started getting serious in the U.K., the queen didn’t just jump and change her schedule. She seemed more than willing to carry on with a modified schedule despite the risks. “As a sensible precaution and for practical reasons in the current circumstances, a number of changes are being made to The Queen’s diary,” Buckingham Palace said on March 17. “Audiences due to take place this week at Buckingham Palace will go ahead as planned… Future Audiences will be reviewed on an ongoing basis, in line with the appropriate advice.”

Unfortunately, the pandemic only got more concerning and the queen left London to be with Prince Philip at Windsor Castle. Still, that hasn’t stopped the queen from working. She held a rare televised speech where she thanked the National Health Service (NHS) workers and reassured the people of her country.

Additionally, prior to his hospitalization with COVID-19, the queen was meeting remotely with U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Queen Elizabeth’s private life is very different than her public life

Whether you like her or not, Queen Elizabeth has mastered what it means to uphold The Crown. While she is seen as stern and reserved in public, she is reportedly much more lighthearted when she’d with friends and family. She has succeeded, unlike other royals who have struggled in the spotlight because she is able to separate her personal and public life.

“[Queen Elizabeth] has always managed to differentiate between the public persona and the private one,” Penny Junor wrote in her book The Firm. “With Diana, there was no such demarcation; there had been no long preparation for a public role in life. The Queen was used to the cameras, used to the publicity, used to being the center of attention. Diana was not.”

Queen Elizabeth loves to keep busy

Aside from giving birth to her youngest sons, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, the queen has not slowed down much in 70 years. In fact, one royal expert has a theory about the queen’s relentless work schedule.

The queen believes, “if I stop I drop,” Ingrid Seward, editor of Majesty Magazine told Sky News. In fact, the queen reportedly planned to spend her 94 birthday horseback riding but only changed her mind at the last moment due to coronavirus concerns.

“If you think about it, her entire life has been one of duty, ” Seward explained. “Even from when she was a tiny child her day was very regulated. So she will be very unused to this. She has probably been doing some of the things we have all been doing like going through draws and photo albums. Certainly, one thing is that she will have been kept busy because she always says ‘if I stop, I drop’. She will probably celebrate with her immediate staff because she is not able to be around anyone else. Normally she might perhaps go riding but she certainly would think that was the wrong thing to do at the moment. She is very conscious as always of other people and their problems.”

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