LONDON: At 117, Ethel Caterham has already lived through more history than most people could imagine. Yet the world’s oldest living person says the past year still managed to bring her “many firsts” – including stroking a llama and holding hands with King Charles III.
Caterham celebrated her 117th birthday on Friday with family and friends at Hallmark Lakeview Care Home in Lightwater, Surrey.
“Thank you for all of the kind birthday wishes,” she said in a statement. “Even at 117, I’ve had many firsts this year, from stroking a llama to holding hands with the King.
“I’ve had a lovely day celebrating with my family and friends, and I look forward to seeing what next year brings.”
It is a characteristically forward-looking sentiment from a woman whose life stretches back to a very different world.
Born on Aug 21, 1909 in Shipton Bellinger, Hampshire, Caterham arrived three years before the sinking of the Titanic and five years before the outbreak of World War I.
She has lived through two world wars, the Russian Revolution, the moon landing and the rise of the internet age. She is also believed to be the last surviving subject of King Edward VII, who died in 1910.
The second youngest of eight children, Caterham spent part of her youth in Wiltshire before setting off for India in 1927 at age 18, where she worked as an au pair for a military family.
She returned to Britain three years later and, in 1931, met her future husband Norman at a dinner party.
Norman, a lieutenant colonel in the British Army, was later stationed overseas, and the couple lived in places including Gibraltar and Hong Kong. While in Hong Kong, Caterham set up a nursery school.
They went on to raise two daughters, both of whom died before her. Norman died in 1976.
Longevity also appears to run in the family: one of Caterham’s sisters, Gladys, lived to the age of 104.
Caterham herself remained remarkably independent well into later life, continuing to drive until she was 97 and enjoying games of contract bridge even after turning 100.
She survived Covid-19 in 2020 at age 110, making her one of the oldest known people to recover from the virus.
She became the world’s oldest living person in April last year following the death of Brazilian nun Sister Inah Canabarro Lucas, who was 116.
Her meeting with King Charles shortly after her 116th birthday last year offered another memorable moment. As the king introduced himself and held her hand, Caterham recalled watching his 1969 investiture as Prince of Wales.
“All the girls were in love with you and wanted to marry you,” she told him – a clear sign that after more than a century of change, Caterham appears to have retained both her humour and curiosity.
The record for the oldest person ever still belongs to Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, who died in 1997 at the age of 122 years and 164 days, according to Guinness World Records.
