From: "lee gilliland" <leeandalexis at hotmail.com>
To: WSFAlist at keithlynch.net
Subject: [WSFA] Re: lifespan of Presidents
Date: Wed, 03 Apr 2002 12:14:56 -0500
Reply-To: WSFA members <WSFAlist at keithlynch.net>

Erica VD Ginter wrote:
 >
 > With the Queen Mum dying at 101 and Queen Elizabeth II going strong after
 > almost 50 years on the throne, it seems to me that the statistics on the
 > length of reign of British monarchs are in for a skewing. Phenotypically,
 > Queen E resembles her mother, whereas Prince Charles resembles his
father,
 > so time will tell if the longevity gene is connected to physical
appearace
 > or not (it is in my father's family). Can't help but wonder if the
current
 > royals are members of the Howard Families!

Good question.  I may be confused, but I think that the Princess Alice
of Greece who died a year or two ago in her mid-90s was Charles' other
grandmother, Philip's mother.  Another possible reason for royal
longevity:  homeopathic as opposed to allopathic medicine.  Herbal and
homeopathic medicines are much more common in Britain than here.

Kit

Something else that comes into play on this question is that the Queen's
duties (and those of her family's) are largely for show, while the President
actually makes the hard choices.  The royals get to leave it up to the P.M.

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