Ethel Caterham celebrates 117th birthday today, August 21, 2026, reaching an extraordinary milestone as the world’s oldest living person and the first Briton ever verified to reach 117. Caterham is marking the occasion privately with family and friends at Hallmark Lakeview Care Home in Lightwater, Surrey, where she lives.
The birthday marks another record in a life that stretches back to the Edwardian era. Caterham was born on August 21, 1909, when King Edward VII was on the British throne. She has since lived through two world wars, major social changes, the arrival of modern aviation and television, the space age, the digital revolution and six British monarchs.
Her 117th birthday also strengthens her position in longevity history. Guinness World Records recognizes her as both the oldest living person and the oldest living woman. She is now among the very small number of people whose verified ages have reached 117.
A historic 117th birthday
Caterham’s birthday is significant because no other verified British person has previously reached 117.
She had already made British longevity history one year earlier when she became the first Briton to reach 116. Her latest birthday takes that national record another step further.
LongeviQuest confirmed Caterham’s age and identified her as the world’s oldest living person in 2025. Guinness World Records subsequently recognized her status. She became the titleholder after Brazilian nun Inah Canabarro Lucas died at age 116 in April 2025.
Caterham has now held the world’s oldest person title for more than a year. Her continued survival has allowed her to add another remarkable chapter to a record that was already historic.
She is also the last known living person born before 1910.
That detail makes her birthday especially meaningful. Her birth came more than five years before the First World War began, placing her among the final living links to a world that existed before many technologies now considered essential.
How Ethel Caterham is celebrating
Caterham is spending her 117th birthday with family and friends at her Surrey care home.
Her celebration is private rather than a large public event. The occasion nevertheless attracted international attention because of the extraordinary record attached to her age.
In a birthday message, Caterham thanked people for their wishes and reflected on some of the unusual experiences she had during her 116th year.
She described the year as one filled with “many firsts,” including meeting King Charles III and stroking a llama. She also expressed happiness about celebrating with people close to her.
Caterham said she was looking forward to seeing what the next year brings.
That message captures the tone surrounding her latest milestone. Rather than focusing only on her age, she has highlighted the experiences and relationships that have made her most recent year memorable.
Her memorable meeting with King Charles III
One of the defining moments of Caterham’s 116th year came in September 2025.
King Charles III visited her at Hallmark Lakeview Care Home shortly after her 116th birthday. During their meeting, the King held her hand while speaking with her.
Caterham also recalled seeing Charles during his 1969 investiture as Prince of Wales.
She remembered him as a young man and jokingly told him that all the girls had been in love with him and wanted to marry him.
The exchange brought a light-hearted moment to a meeting that carried considerable historical significance.
Caterham was born during the reign of Charles’s great-great-grandfather, Edward VII. She has therefore lived through the reigns of six British monarchs.
Her meeting with Charles created an unusual connection between the beginning and current era of her extraordinary life.
Born in 1909
Ethel May Caterham was born on August 21, 1909, in Shipton Bellinger, Hampshire, England.
She was the second youngest of eight children.
Her childhood took place during a very different period in British history. Cars were still becoming established, commercial air travel did not exist in its modern form, television had not been invented and radio broadcasting had yet to become a part of everyday life.
Caterham grew up in Tidworth, Wiltshire.
Her birth also connects her to the final years of the Edwardian period. King Edward VII died in 1910, when Caterham was still a baby.
As a result, she is the last known living person born during his reign.
Her life has since crossed generations that experienced some of the fastest technological and social changes in human history.
An adventurous journey to India
Caterham was not someone who spent her early adult years in one place.
At 18, she traveled alone by ship to India in 1927.
The journey took about three weeks. She went there to work as an au pair for a British military family.
Traveling internationally alone at that age was a significant undertaking, particularly during the 1920s. Her decision reflected an adventurous side that remained part of her story.
She stayed in India until she was 21.
Her time overseas eventually led to another important chapter in her personal life. She met Norman Caterham at a dinner party in 1931.
The couple married in 1933 at Salisbury Cathedral.
Norman served in the British Army and eventually became a lieutenant colonel in the Royal Army Pay Corps. His military career took the family to different parts of the world.
Life overseas and family years
After their marriage, Ethel and Norman lived in Salisbury before moving overseas because of his military postings.
They spent time in Gibraltar and Hong Kong.
During their time in Hong Kong, Caterham established a nursery for children from local and British families.
Her life was therefore not limited to the United Kingdom. She experienced different cultures and communities while accompanying her husband during his military career.
Eventually, the couple returned to Britain and settled in Surrey.
They had two daughters, Gem and Anne.
Caterham later became a grandmother and great-grandmother. She now has three granddaughters and five great-grandchildren.
Her husband died in 1976.
Caterham has also outlived both of her daughters, making her current family connections especially important as she celebrates another birthday.
A family history of longevity
Caterham’s extraordinary lifespan is not completely isolated within her family.
One of her siblings, Gladys Babilas, lived to 104.
That makes the family’s history notable even before considering Caterham’s own record.
Caterham was one of eight siblings, and reaching 104 was itself an exceptional achievement for her sister.
Caterham, however, has gone far beyond that mark.
Her 117th birthday places her among the oldest verified people in recorded history. Guinness World Records lists her as the 13th-oldest person ever recorded.
She remained active into later life
Caterham’s long life has included several signs of independence well beyond the age at which many people retire from everyday activities.
She continued driving until she was 97.
She also enjoyed contract bridge during her centenarian years.
These details have become part of the story surrounding her longevity because they show that her later decades were not defined solely by her age.
Caterham also survived COVID-19 after contracting the illness in 2020 at age 110.
That made her one of the oldest known people to survive the disease.
Her recovery came at a particularly advanced age, adding another unusual event to a life already filled with historic milestones.
What Caterham has said about her longevity
Caterham has previously offered a simple approach when discussing her long life.
She has spoken about avoiding arguments, listening and doing what she likes.
Her comments have often attracted attention because they do not present an elaborate formula for longevity.
Instead, her outlook emphasizes independence and a positive approach to everyday life.
Her family has also described her as someone who remains engaged with the present.
That perspective stands out because Caterham has witnessed an enormous amount of change. She has lived through eras that are now separated by technology and culture, yet she continues to express interest in what comes next.
Her latest birthday message reflects that attitude.
At 117, she is still looking forward rather than simply looking back.
A life spanning six monarchs
Caterham’s age can be understood through the British monarchs she has lived under.
She was born during the reign of Edward VII.
George V followed Edward VII, and Caterham lived through his reign and the short reign of Edward VIII.
She then experienced the reign of George VI and the exceptionally long reign of Queen Elizabeth II.
King Charles III is the current monarch.
That means Caterham has lived under six monarchs.
Her meeting with Charles in 2025 gave her a rare opportunity to speak directly with the monarch who currently occupies the throne that Edward VII held when she was born.
Few living people can connect those two periods through personal memory.
Her place among the oldest people ever verified
Reaching 117 is exceptionally rare.
Caterham is not the oldest person ever recorded. That record remains with Jeanne Calment of France, who lived to 122 years and 164 days.
However, Caterham has entered a much smaller historical group by reaching 117.
Guinness World Records places her among the 13 oldest verified people ever recorded. Her current status also makes her the oldest living person and oldest living woman.
The distinction between the oldest person ever and the oldest person currently living is important.
Caterham does not hold the all-time longevity record. She holds the current living-person record.
Her achievement is still remarkable because only a tiny number of verified individuals have survived to her age.
The end of an era
Perhaps the most striking fact surrounding Caterham is that she represents a living connection to a period that has almost completely disappeared.
She was born before the First World War.
She was alive during the Titanic era, experienced both world wars and witnessed the transformation of Britain from an early industrial society into a highly technological one.
She has seen the arrival of television, commercial aviation, modern medicine, computers and the internet.
She was already an adult before many of these technologies existed.
Now, at 117, she lives in a world of smartphones, artificial intelligence and instant global communication.
That contrast makes her story compelling beyond the record itself.
Ethel Caterham’s current status
As of August 21, 2026, Caterham remains the world’s oldest living person.
She is 117 years old and lives at Hallmark Lakeview Care Home in Lightwater, Surrey.
Guinness World Records recognizes her as the oldest living person and the oldest living woman.
Her birthday also makes her the first Briton verified to reach 117.
She continues to hold a remarkable position in longevity history after becoming the titleholder in April 2025.
Her 117th birthday is being marked with family and friends, while messages of congratulations have arrived from around the world.
The latest milestone also comes with a message that looks toward the future. Caterham says she is interested in seeing what the next year will bring.
For someone who was born in 1909, that forward-looking attitude may be one of the most memorable parts of the occasion.
A remarkable milestone at 117
Ethel Caterham’s life is remarkable not simply because she has reached 117.
Her story includes international travel, marriage, motherhood, military life overseas, family milestones, independence in later years and encounters with major historical changes.
She has also become a symbol of longevity because her age has been carefully verified and recognized by leading organizations that track extreme human lifespan.
Now, as she celebrates another birthday, she has added one more distinction to her name: she is the first verified Briton to reach 117.
Her journey continues to attract attention because it connects generations that would otherwise seem separated by an enormous stretch of history.
At 117, Caterham remains the world’s oldest living person, surrounded by family and friends and looking ahead to another year.
What are your thoughts on Ethel Caterham’s remarkable life and record-setting milestone? Share your thoughts and stay updated on her latest journey.