A team from the Geneva School of Business has found that marring younger woman who belongs to the same cultural background increases the chance of a long and happy marriage by a fifth.

A prominent example to prove the research is of the couple; the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh whose marriage has lasted for more than six decades, since they wed at Westminster Abbey in November 1947.

The 83 year old Queen is four years and 10 months younger to the Duke and they share the same Royal background as Philip was a member of both the Greek and Danish royal families.

Some 1,074 couples aged between 19 and 75 were examined and the conclusions drawn suggested that for a happy married life, the wife should be 27% more intelligent than her husband and should hold a degree while he should not. However, the chance of marital bliss was reduced if one married a divorcee.

In another study, where about 4,000 spouses were interviewed to calculate the time period when their wedded bliss began, the result revealed that married couples were happiest two years, 11 months and eight days after tying the knot and that the couples enjoyed their best sex, romantic meals and night outs with mates partying, after two years and four months.