The Queen turns down Oldie award, saying ‘you are only as old as you feel’

Watch: 'You are as old as you feel': Queen Elizabeth politely turns down Oldie of the Year Award

She is still riding horses, partying with world leaders, and mastering the video call.

At the age of 95, the Queen has cemented her credentials as a veritable spring chicken, turning down an Oldie of the Year award on the basis she could not possibly qualify.

The Queen has “politely but firmly” turned down a trophy from The Oldie magazine, believing “you are only as old as you feel” and that she therefore did not meet “the relevant criteria”.

At Tuesday’s awards show in The Savoy, London, Gyles Brandreth, the chairman of the awards, said he had hoped to bestow the annual honour on the Queen, in recognition of her leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic and in the lead-up to her Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

Instead, he received a letter (below) from Tom Laing-Baker, her assistant private secretary, explaining: “Her Majesty believes you are as old as you feel, as such The Queen does not believe she meets the relevant criteria to be able to accept and hopes you will find a more worthy recipient.”

The Duchess of Cornwall instead attended the awards, making a comic turn as its star speaker.

For the past 29 years, The Oldie of the Year Awards has celebrated the achievements of those of the older generation who have made a special contribution to public life.

Previous winners have included everyone from Oscar winners to Nobel laureates, from community care nurses to veteran athletes, from Sir John Major to Dame Olivia de Havilland and David Hockney.

As she approaches her Platinum Jubilee next year next year, the Queen has kept a busy schedule since the lifting of coronavirus restrictions and the death of her beloved Duke of Edinburgh.

On Tuesday, Buckingham Palace released a video of Her Majesty in an online audience with Dame Cindy Kiro, the governor-general designate of New Zealand, in which the Queen began the call with a cheerful “Ah! There you are” as she appeared on the screen.

That same day, the Queen, along with the Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge, hosted a reception at Windsor for international business and investment leaders to mark the Global Investment Summit.

Brandreth revealed that actress Dame Maureen Lipman, one of the judges, raised the prospect of the magazine honouring the Queen.

He described the letter he received from Balmoral Castle in response as “lovely”, saying: “We endorse what the Queen says and understand completely, but we are keeping our powder dry and maybe in a decade or so it might be appropriate to try again.”

The letter, he said, concluded: “‘This message comes to you with her Majesty’s warmest and best wishes’. Well, it goes without saying that we reciprocate those warm best wishes, all of us do here, and we say ‘Long live the Queen!’”

While the Duchess of Cornwall received the Oldie Award for Spouse of the Year in 2006, she is no longer eligible for one of the awards, said Brandreth.

He said: “The Duchess is far too young. It’s not even remotely possible. It’s changed since we began because it’s now really people in their 80s and 90s and we’ve had centenarians, so she genuinely is too young.”

The Duchess, 74, gave a short speech at the award lunch, saying: “There are times I know when we all experience those senior moments.

“But there are advantages to growing older too. Watching your children growing up, enjoying one’s grandchildren, and knowing that they’ll be going home after the visit. Having more time to read, finding time to read the Oldie and coming along to jolly lunches like this one.”

She quoted Richard Ingrams, the former editor of The Oldie, to tell guests: “Here’s to laughter, friendship and keeping a snap in your celery.”

The late Duke of Edinburgh was named Oldie of the Year in 2011 to mark his 90th birthday.

In the end, the main Oldie of the Year award went to Leslie Caron, the French-American actress and dancer, who at 90 is five years younger than the Queen.

Former England footballer Sir Geoff Hurst, 79, won the Oldie Golden Boot of the Year and cook Delia Smith, 80, was honoured with the Truly Scrumptious Oldie award.

Margaret Seaman, 92, was crowned Oldie Champion Knitter of the Year after creating an 18ft-long knitted model of Sandringham, currently on display at the Queen’s Norfolk estate, to raise funds for local hospitals.

Dr Mridul Kumar Datta and Dr Saroj Datta, both 81, were joint Oldie NHS Angels of the Year.

The married couple, who work alongside each other in their Blackburn GP practice, have worked a combined 110 years at the NHS and continued to work full-time throughout the pandemic.

Watch: The Queen cancels trip to Northern Ireland on health grounds