A woman from the UK has become the oldest person in the world, at the age of 115 and 252 days. Ethel Caterham, who lives in a long-term care facility in Surrey, reached the milestone following the death of Brazilian nun Sister Inah Canabarro Lucas, who passed away at 116 on Wednesday. Ethel was born on August 21, 1909 and is the last surviving subject of Edward VII. She says the secret to her longevity is never arguing with anyone. “I listen and I do what I like,” she said. The new record has been confirmed by Guinness World Records. On her 115th birthday in 2024, Ethel received a letter from King Charles III, who congratulated her on a “truly remarkable milestone.” Ethel was the second youngest of eight children. At the age of 18, she was employed as an au pair to a military family in India. She returned to the UK in 1931 and met her future husband, Norman Caterham, and they married at Salisbury Cathedral in 1933. Ethel has lived through the sinking of the Titanic, World War I, the Russian Revolution, the Great Depression, and World War II. She has spent the last 50 years living in Surrey and continued driving until she was 97. She has three granddaughters and five great-grandchildren. Longevity apparently runs in Ethel’s family — her sister Gladys lived to be 104.
