Overview

• Ethel Caterham celebrated at Hallmark’s Lakeview care home in Lightwater, with staff saying she declined interviews to enjoy the day with family at her own pace.
• Her care home noted that a birthday greeting from King Charles III could be her one concession, after she received a royal card for her 115th last year.
• The Gerontological Research Group and LongeviQuest list Caterham as the world’s oldest living person, a title she assumed in April after the death of Brazil’s Sister Inah Canabarro Lucas.
• Born on 21 August 1909 in Shipton Bellinger, she is the last surviving subject of King Edward VII and spent years abroad after marrying British Army officer Norman Caterham in 1933.
• Caterham has three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren, survived COVID-19 at 110, and has said her longevity secret is to avoid arguments, listen, and do what she likes.