World’s oldest person Ethel Caterham turns 117
The world’s oldest person, Ethel Caterham, has become the first-ever Brit in history to reach the age of 117, Qazinform News Agency reports, citing Guinness World Records.
Born on 21 August 1909, Caterham was recognized in 2025 by LongeviQuest as both the world’s oldest woman and the overall oldest living person.
Since then, she has been celebrated internationally and even received a personal visit from King Charles III.
King Charles had a touching moment with the world’s oldest living person, 116-year-old Ethel Caterham, who told him that “all the girls were in love” with him when he was invested as Prince of Wales in 1969 🥹#kingcharles #royalfamily
— HELLO! Canada (@HelloCanada) September 21, 2025
📽️: @RoyalFamily pic.twitter.com/aDXMCeBHdB
Marking her 117th birthday, LongeviQuest CEO Ben Meyers said that Caterham is now the 13th oldest person ever recorded, and remains the last living individual born before 1910.
Her sister Gladys Babilas lived to the age of 104 years and 78 days before passing away in 2002.
At 18, Ethel moved to India to work as a nanny for a British family, embarking alone on a three‑week sea voyage in 1927. A few years later, in 1931, she met Major Norman Caterham of the British Army, who rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Royal Army Pay Corps. The couple married at Salisbury Cathedral in 1933.
Later, the couple moved to Hong Kong, where Ethel established a nursery for both local and British children. After returning to Surrey, England, the couple raised two daughters, Gem and Anne.
Sadly, Norman died in 1976 and she outlived both her daughters.
Today, she remains surrounded by family, with three granddaughters and five great‑grandchildren celebrating her remarkable milestone.
Her care home in Surrey has honored her with a dedicated garden named “Ethel’s Garden.”
She also received birthday wishes from the world’s oldest man, João Marinho Neto of Brazil, who turns 114 in October.
Earlier, Qazinform reported that seven-time Guinness record holder Sergey Tsyrulnikov had been appointed Vice President of Kazakhstan Weightlifting Federation.
