Ethel Caterham, recognized as the world’s oldest living person, turned 117 on Friday at her care home in Surrey, England.
The British supercentenarian marked the birthday on August 21, DR reports, citing the BBC. She was born in 1909, three years before the Titanic disaster, and has lived through two world wars.
According to CNN, Caterham was born on August 21, 1909, in Shipton Bellinger in Hampshire. She grew up as one of eight children and now lives in a care home in Surrey.
Guinness World Records states that she is the first Briton ever to reach the age of 117. The organization named her the world’s oldest woman and oldest person overall in 2025, after verification by the age researchers at LongeviQuest. Per Guinness, her time as record holder has now lasted about one year and 103 days.
The Gerontology Research Group confirms that Caterham celebrated her 117th birthday in Lightwater, Surrey. The research group notes that she is one of only 13 people whose ages have been validated at 117 or above. She became the oldest known living person after the death of Brazilian supercentenarian Inah Canabarro Lucas on April 30, 2025.
As reported by DR, Guinness World Records also lists her among the oldest people to have survived a covid-19 infection. She contracted the virus in 2020, at the age of 110.
A life from Hampshire to Hong Kong
Before she married, Caterham traveled alone to India at the age of 18, CNN reports. There she worked as a nanny for a military family. She met her future husband, Norman, a lieutenant colonel in the British Army, at a dinner party in 1931.
The couple married two years later and lived for a period in Hong Kong, where she set up a form of kindergarten. Norman died in 1976. Their two daughters both died before her, while one of her sisters lived to the age of 104.
Caterham was visited by King Charles on her 116th birthday, and a photograph from that occasion shows her shaking his hand from a blue armchair. During the visit she recalled his investiture as Prince of Wales in 1969, when he was 21, according to CNN.
In a message shared for this year’s birthday, reported by ABC News, Caterham said she had experienced several firsts at 117. She mentioned stroking a llama and holding hands with the King. RTÉ notes that she attributes her longevity to having enjoyed everything in life in moderation.
