World’s oldest person celebrates 117th birthday in UK

Ethel Caterham, the world's oldest living person, celebrated her 117th birthday on Friday in southwest England, according to media reports.,

Caterham, who lives at a care home in Surrey, southeast England, became the oldest living person in April 2025 after the death of Brazilian Inah Canabarro Lucas at the age of 116, the BBC reported.

Living through two world wars, Caterham, who is the second youngest of eight children, is one of the oldest people to survive Covid-19 after contracting it in 2020 at the age of 110, according to Guinness World Records.

Her two daughters died before her, while her husband, Norman, a lieutenant colonel in the British Army, died in 1976.

Last year, Caterham was visited by King Charles following her 116th birthday.