Today, Queen Elizabeth II becomes the first reigning British monarch to celebrate 60 years of marriage and with genes on her side - her mother died at 101 - and abdication out of the question, the abolitionists could be in for a long wait.
And what a difference a decade makes as the 81-year-old monarch and her 86-year-old husband Prince Philip mark their diamond wedding.
The monarchy's popularity plummeted in 1997 after Princess Diana, ex-wife of heir to the throne Prince Charles, died in a Paris car crash.
Many Britons berated the royal family, feeling they had not shared enough in a public outpouring of grief.
Just 10 weeks after Diana's funeral, the Queen was said to be so nervous about the public's attitude to her that she considered cancelling her traditional walkabout after a service to mark her 50th wedding anniversary.
She need not have worried.
"I thought that was the day the turnaround began," said royal biographer Robert Lacey.
"There was enormous warmth shown to her and Prince Philip as a couple.
"I think she has been underrated most of her reign. Only now are her qualities being appreciated," he said.
"For her it is clearly a job for life."
The Queen suffered a backlash from her children's disastrous marriages - three out of four got divorced - but most polls show support for the monarchy... at least, until she dies.
"The whole debate about the monarchy is on hold while the Queen is able to pursue her functions," said Prof. Stephen Haseler, chairman of Republic, which campaigns for an elected head of state.
"She is hanging on, as Charles is controversial and he will ignite the debate."
Prince Charles's tangled love life was sorted out in 2005 when he finally married his long-time lover Camilla Parker Bowles after a 35-year affair. Diana always blamed Camilla for the breakup of her marriage to Charles.
Even after decades of waiting in the wings, Prince Charles's accession could pose problems for the monarchy.
"The institution of monarchy is in rude health as long as the Queen is in rude health," said the Evening Standard newspaper's royal correspondent Robert Jobson.
"But there are big questions ahead. They will be over the suitability of Charles and Camilla, not necessarily in Britain but in (Commonwealth) countries like Australia, New Zealand and Canada."
Fact box
Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh marked their 60th wedding anniversary with a service of celebration at London's Westminster Abbey, retracing their steps up the aisle of the abbey in 1947.
Five facts about the royal couple
• Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip first met when they attended the wedding of Prince Philip's cousin, Princess Marina of Greece, to The Duke of Kent, who was an uncle of Princess Elizabeth, in 1934.
• Prince Philip had two stag parties the night before his wedding - the first at the Dorchester Hotel to which media were invited and the second with his closest friends at the Belfry Club.
• The royal couple received more than 2,500 wedding presents from well-wishers around the world. From India, there was a piece of crocheted, cotton lace, made from yarn, personally spun by Mahatma Gandhi. The central motif read Jai Hind (Victory for India).
• The Duke of Edinburgh is only one of a few consorts to reigning Queens in British history. William III was co-Sovereign with Mary II, although she, as daughter of James II, was nearer the throne than he.
The husband of Queen Anne was not given the title of king, but remained Prince George of Denmark. Prince Albert was created Prince Consort by Queen Victoria in 1857.
The Malta Connection
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh married on November 20, 1947, and Malta is the only country outside the UK where they have lived.
Prince Philip served here with the Royal Navy between 1949 and 1951, during which period the Queen (then Princess Elizabeth) visited several times, the longest visit being from November 1950 to February 1951.
They returned to the island in 1954, 1967, 1992 and 2005.
In May 1992, Her Majesty inaugurated the 1940-43 Siege Bell Memorial across the road from the Lower Barrakka Gardens, commemorating the award of the George Cross to Malta by her father, King George VI, in April 1942. The Duke of Edinburgh visited Malta alone in 2001.