Britain's oldest ever person is celebrating her 116th birthday today, spending the special day quietly with family at her Surrey care home.
Ethel Caterham, who's believed to be the world's oldest living person, has turned down all media interview requests, though she'd welcome any birthday wishes from King Charles.
The supercentenarian became the planet's oldest person in April when Brazilian nun Sister Inah Canabarro Lucas passed away at 116.
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Her carehome in Lightwater, Surrey released a statement saying Ethel wants to enjoy her milestone birthday "at her own pace" with loved ones.
"The King may be her one concession, understandably," the statement noted, after His Majesty sent her a birthday card last year.
Born in Shipton Bellinger, Hampshire, on August 21, 1909, Ethel is the last person alive who was a subject of King Edward VII, who died the following year.
She's the second youngest of eight children and grew up in nearby Tidworth, Wiltshire.
Ethel Caterham got a card from the King and Queen last year
|HALLMARK CARE HOMES
Her remarkable age means she entered the world three years before the Titanic tragedy and eight years before the Russian Revolution.
The Hampshire-born woman claimed the title of world's oldest person in April following Sister Inah's death in Brazil - making her the youngest person to receive the honour since 2013.
She's also the first British person to reach 115 since Annie Jennings achieved the milestone more than two decades ago in 1999.
Ethel's extraordinary life began when she sailed alone to India at 18, spending three weeks at sea to work as an au pair for a military family in 1927.
Ethel Caterham said having a 'positive mental attitude' was key to a long life
|HALLMARK CARE HOMES
She returned to Britain four years later and met Norman Caterham at a dinner party in 1931, marrying him at Salisbury Cathedral two years later.
Norman became a lieutenant colonel in the Royal Army Pay Corps, and the couple lived in Hong Kong and Gibraltar during his postings.
While in Hong Kong, Ethel opened a nursery teaching English and games to local children.
She's among the oldest Covid survivors globally, having caught the virus at 110 in 2020 and making a full recovery.
The couple started their family in Gibraltar before returning to Britain to raise daughters Gem and Anne.
Ethel outlived Norman, who died in 1976, and both their children - Gem passed away in the early 2000s and Anne died in 2020.
She's now a grandmother to Kate Henderson, Julia Pauling and Lucy Robinson, plus five great-grandchildren who regularly visit.
Asked about her longevity secrets, Ethel previously told the Salisbury Journal: "Say yes to every opportunity because you never know what it will lead to.
"Have a positive mental attitude and have everything in moderation."
She also credits her long life to "never arguing with anyone, I listen and I do what I like."
The oldest person who ever lived, whose age could be verified, was Frenchwoman Jean Louise Calment, who died in 1997 at the age of 122 years and 164 days.