How Queen Elizabeth II ate and exercised to live to the age of 96

• Queen Elizabeth II died at the age of 96, as the world's oldest head of state.
• She favored "sensible exercise" over rigorous workouts and loved spending time in nature.

Queen Elizabeth II died peacefully in her sleep at Balmoral Castle, Scotland, at the age of 96 on Thursday, according to Buckingham Palace.

She was the longest serving monarch in British history, having inherited the crown from her father in 1952, and the world's oldest head of state.

Even though her official duties were scaled down in her later years, the Queen worked right up until her death, meeting with the new UK Prime Minister Liz Truss on Tuesday to invite her to form a government.

Intimate details of the Queen's health were rarely shared with the public, but she was closely monitored throughout her life by the royal family's medical team, according to The Guardian, and was known for her robust health.

Bryan Kozlowski, author of "Long Live the Queen! 23 Rules for Living From Britain's Longest-Reigning Monarch," told The New York Post in 2020: "She has aged incredibly well and is the paradigm of health and wellness."

She caught COVID in February 2022, but had only been to hospital for three brief visits over her last two decades.

Eating a balanced diet, exercising regularly, and maintaining a healthy weight — as the Queen did — are key to having a long and healthy life.

The Queen did 'sensible exercise'

The Queen did not bother with intense workouts, preferring "sensible exercise" like walking her corgis and riding horses, according to Kozlowski.

In a speech given when the Queen and Prince Philip visited the US in 1991, then-president George H. W. Bush complimented her on her long walks that "left even the Secret Service panting."

She enjoyed time in nature, according to Kozlowski, and particularly loved the Scottish countryside around Balmoral, which she visited almost every year.

The Queen also reportedly never smoked, and got good sleep.

The Queen ate a balanced diet including chocolate and gin

The Queen was "not a foodie," according to Darren McGrady, her chef from 1982 to 1993, and she is thought to have eaten simple meals.

When dining alone, she was "very disciplined" and would often have low-carb meals, McGrady said, but she enjoyed treats and alcohol too.

In the morning, the Queen was known to have biscuits and tea followed by toast and marmalade, cereal with fruit, or smoked salmon with scrambled eggs and truffle, as Insider's Ali Millington reported.

Before a simple lunch like grilled fish with vegetables, the Queen would enjoy a gin and Dubonnet (a sweet wine-based aperitif) with a slice of lemon and ice, McGrady said. She also liked a dry martini, but stopped having one daily last year for her health and to stay alert on the job, the royal sommelier told The Daily Mail in 2021.

She also had a traditional afternoon tea of sandwiches, scones, and a "sliver of cake," alongside some darjeeling tea, Kozlowski said.

When not at a function, dinners would often be fillets of beef or venison, pheasant, or salmon from farms in Sandringham and Balmoral, with something fruity for dessert. She also loved traditional British roast dinners on Sundays.

The Queen was a "chocoholic" and loved dark chocolate (which has various health benefits), McGrady told Newsweek.

She would finish her day with a glass of champagne, according to Margaret Rhodes, the Queen's cousin.