Ethel Caterham, a British woman recognised as the world's oldest living person, has celebrated her 117th birthday at a care home in Surrey.
Caterham resides at the Hallmark Lakeview care home in Lightwater, a village located in the county of Surrey in southern England, according to BBC News.
She inherited the title of the world's oldest person following the death of 116-year-old Brazilian Catholic nun Ina Canabarro Lucas in April 2025.
Life in India and Hong Kong
Born in Hampshire in 1909 as the second of eight children, Caterham spent much of her youth travelling overseas. Hampshire is an historic county situated along the southern coast of England.
In 1927, at 18 years old, she moved to India to work as a nanny for a military family. Four years later, in 1931, she met her future husband Norman, a lieutenant colonel in the British Army, at a dinner party in Britain.
The couple subsequently relocated to Hong Kong, then a British territory in East Asia, where Caterham established a local kindergarten. She gave birth to and raised two daughters in Hong Kong before being widowed in 1976. Exceptional longevity appears to run in her family, as her sister Gladys lived to the age of 104.
Royal meeting and historical milestones
Having lived through both world wars, Caterham also recovered from coronavirus in 2020 at the age of 110. She is currently the only surviving subject of King Edward VII, who reigned over the United Kingdom from 1901 until his death in 1910.
Caterham remained active well into her advanced years, continuing to drive a car until she was 97. In September last year, she hosted King Charles III during a royal visit to her care home.
Recalling the year 1969 when the monarch was created Prince of Wales, Caterham told King Charles III that all the girls were in love with him at the time and wanted to marry him.
Global records and longevity advice
The all-time record for human longevity continues to be held by Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, who lived to be 122 years and 164 days old before her death in 1997.
In a separate longevity record, 111-year-old Louis Cano was previously named the oldest living resident of the United States. Cano described his personal guidelines for a long life as simple and practical, advising people not to drink heavily, to get plenty of sleep, and to avoid smoking.
