Surrey woman reportedly now oldest person in the world
Ethel Caterham is 115 years old
Last updated 1st May 2025
A woman in Surrey has reportedly become the oldest person in the world.
Ethel Caterham, who lives in a care home in Lightwater, celebrated her 115th birthday back in August.
It's understood she has inherited the title following the death of Brazilian nun Inah Canabarro Lucas who passed away aged 116 earlier this week.
Ethel was born on the 21st of August 1909 in Shipton Bellinger in Hampshire. She's believed to be the last surviving subject of King Edward VII, father to the late Queen Elizabeth II.
In 1927, when she was 18, she went to British India and worked as an au pair to a military family until she was 21. In 1931, she went back to England and met her future husband Norman Caterham at a party. They later married in Salisbury Cathedral.
They lived in Harnham before being stationed in Hong Kong and Gibraltar. While in Hong Kong, Ethel set up a nursery to teach English, crafts and games, and in Gibraltar, the couple had two daughters who they raised back in England. Norman died in 1976.
Caterham drove until she was 97 and played contract bridge in her centenarian years.